A Step too Far
by Dysentia
Summary: An old Titan climbs down off the walls he built and walks away from the Traveler. Not once did he regret his decision.
1. Chapter 0

A Step too Far

Chapter 0

Harmless Curiosity

An old Titan decides to climb off the walls and take a step away from the Traveler. He never intended to walk so far.

* * *

"You know, when Cayde asked for volunteers… I don't think he was expecting you." The little drone began, gliding next to his Guardian.

Heavy footfalls and a deep chuckle answered him.

"I even had time to snap a picture." The drone exclaimed. "I think he almost caught a fly with his mouth."

"I will admit, little Ghost." The Guardian rumbled. "It was amusing to see him so…" he paused, waving his hand around and clicking his fingers as he searched for the right word. "Perplexed? No, no that doesn't sound right. Flabbergasted! Yes, that's the right one."

The Ghost, as the Guardian called it, he was talking to was a small cuboidal drone, its four face plates twitched and slid as it talked in an odd imitation of a mouth. In the middle of this was its eye, shaped like a diamond within a diamond.

"I don't know, perplexed sounded right." The Ghost pondered, only to get a slight glare from the Guardian as they approached the balcony edge. "Right, right. Well the ship's here so let's get going."

A green and black arrowhead-shaped craft rose up over the edge. On either side of the craft were angular hulls with triangular intakes. Resting along the spine was a rotary turret as well as a tailfin/communications package.

A small burst of glistening light washed over the Ghost and the Guardian as they were pulled into the ship through the Transmat-system.

The Guardian settled into his seat. While his body went about setting a course and guiding the ship, he began to reflect on this recent development.

 _Cayde-6, the Hunter Vanguard, had recently put out a volunteer only mission. Apparently his Hunters had found a new gateway hidden on Oryx' Dreadnaught. The Warlocks couldn't make heads or tails of it and sent drone after drone through it. As soon as the drones passed through, all channels that previously would have sent instructions and receive reports through had gone silent._

 _The carved inscriptions were impossible to translate, even to the Ghosts who seemed to crack just about every encryption and know every language. The only thing that seemed to be certain was that it seemed to absorb Light to become active and it would continue to drain the Light until it was shut down._

 _After it was first activated, it only took a few seconds for the Guardians and Ghosts to start collapsing and gasping for breath. The Vanguard had decreed that it should only be opened on Ikora's order, any breach of this order would see the one responsible grounded, disarmed and confined to The City for the next year._

 _The mission came with a warning. This was likely to be a one-way trip._

 _So when Cayde was approached by him, he was undoubtedly puzzled._

" _Why would You, of all people, want to sign up for this?" Cayde had asked him._

" _We all have to pay our dues sometime, Cayde. Even me."_

"…tor!"

 _Especially me_

"Praetor!"

Praetor jumped and looked around, his gaze landing on the Ghost, who had rotated his face-plates in a quizzical manor. "We're here." Praetor's gaze moved past the Ghost and focused on the view outside the ship.

Saturn and its majestic rings. He had heard so many tales and stories of its splendor, but none of them seemed to hold weight to the actual thing. But sadly, there was a stain on the beautiful canvas.

Right in the middle of the rings was the Dreadnought. The Taken King's vessel. In a single attack, the Awoken fleet had been obliterated along with a sizable chunk of the rings. The vessel's size was practically immeasurable in traditional scales. The Dreadnought was a small planet of its own.

"Sorry, j-just distracted." He admitted, gaze not wandering from the view.

"Well, maybe I should take over, just in case." It suggested coyly.

"No need, I can fly us."

"Ok, get us closer and I'll contact Ikora."

As Praetor drew closer to the immense vessel, a sense of dread began to well up inside him. Something would go wrong, he could feel it. His mind burned, telling him this was a bad idea. Praetor pushed past them, he could not allow fear to compromise his mission.

"Ikora has given us a ten second window to get through the gateway." The Ghost chirped. Beneath his helmet, Praetor allowed himself a little smile.

"I'll make it five."

* * *

The ship blasted along the spine, occasionally spinning and weaving to avoid the spikes that formed over the chitinous hull. Barely a kilometre away was the gateway, two massive arched spires that had joined above the midway of the spinal trench

The moment that he crossed the kilometre mark, the Guardian standing-by activated it, sending ethereal green light up, through the rune-lined spires and creating the ominous black-grey flame that filled the void between the two spires. From the middle out, rippled a glinting red wave.

In that very same moment, the icons identifying the Guardians morphed into a blaring red exclamation mark, indicating that they were in danger. Praetor ignored them and pushed the throttle all the way forward.

 **400 Metres.**

 _As he got closer, he started to feel weak, his Light was getting weaker._

 **300 Metres.**

 _Why did he feel… tired?_

 _Everything felt so… slow._

 _He was cold._

 **200 Metres.**

 _What was his name?_

 _Praetor?_

 _No._

 _Peyton?_

 _That sounded familiar._

 **100 Metres.**

 _What was his Task?_

 _To Protect_

 _No._

 _To… Live?_

 **Contact**

* * *

A small girl looked up in wonder at the night sky, at how the stars sparkled and how the moon glowed. She made a game out of making shapes with the stars, so far she had seen a bunny, a sword, even Mum and Dad.

Then she glanced something new something different. With a squeal of delight she ran to get her parents and show them the wonderful thing.

"Mummy, Daddy!" She called, her excitement mounting.

"What is it sweetie?" She heard her mother ask.

"A Shooting Star!"

* * *

Chapter end

Hey guys

It's been a very, very long time but here I am to try my hand once again. Now this is just a prologue, so please forgive me for the short length, I'm going to try and get more words in the next time around. I'll be aiming for about 5k words, but don't hold me to it.

Any way, please let me know if you liked it, if not please help me to make it better.

That's all for today, Bye.


	2. Chapter 1: Nothing Ventured

A Step too Far

Chapter 1

Nothing Ventured...

An old Titan decides to climb off the walls and take a step away from the Traveler. He never intended to walk so far.

* * *

It was dark, the moment they crossed that threshold everything turned into nothing but darkness.

Their light was fading, fast. He had to do something. _Anything!_

With a shimmer, the Ghost let his consciousness merge with the ship. In milliseconds, power was re-routed, circuits were cut and parts jettisoned. He was taking a massive gamble, if he shunted enough power through the jump-drive he might be able to weaken the Gateway's grasp on the ship just enough to escape.

Of course, this was all theoretical, he had no idea what would happen. It just might make the ship explode for all he knew.

 _Nothing ventured…_

The Ghost recalled that phrase, manipulating the thousands of energy conduits to direct power through the capacitors whilst isolating all but one path to the jump-drive. The millisecond it they were at full charge he released the energy all at once.

Praetor told him that. Long ago, before The City existed. They had spent many years wandering from place to place, shining their Light to the Darkness that had infested Earth. The undying Vex on Mercury burned as he threw Sol's wrath to consume them. The Fallen fled in terror as he wielded their Arc against them. The Hive on the Moon tried to swarm him as he ripped the Void from them.

After so long, they were both tired. Praetor sought out the Traveler, to bask in its light and rest.

The sight of so many people still alive gave him a renewed energy. It gave him a new purpose. The first Vanguard had been divided back then, unable to decide on a single path or plan.

He laid the first brick of the wall that would defend the City, saying those very words. He wanted to stand as a Titan, a stalwart defender against the Darkness. In time, as more Guardians began to appear, Praetor shared with them his views and they too, laid their bricks alongside his own.

Time stood still as the Ghost took one final look towards his tired Guardian, his Light barely a flicker amongst the Darkness that surrounded them. It wouldn't take much to render him unconscious. He uttered a single phrase before letting his light merge with the surging energy.

 _Nothing Gained._

"Goodbye Guardian."

* * *

" _Report!"_

" _Ma'am, the Gateway just destroyed itself!"_

" _What? How!"_

" _I'm not sure Ma'am, but well… we all felt something just before it died."_

" _What was it? Please, describe it to me."_

" _I-I felt as though, a brief light washed over us. The Ghosts are in agreement, it was a dying light."_

"… _Return to the Tower, we'll have to document these findings."_

" _Roger that, Ma'am."_

* * *

A blurry white was the first thing that Praetor saw when he woke. Blinking away the blurriness, his vision focused enough for him to realise that he was still inside the cockpit of his ship. The pane of glass separating him from the outside was being slowly covered in a thin layer of snow. Shadows and flecks of sunlight danced across what little bits of clear glass remained. The emergency light inside was dim, staining everything a dark orange.

Praetor let out a groan as he pushed himself out of the chair, only to fall to his knees and grasp onto the dashboard.

He had not felt like this since he had first been reborn. His mind a bleary mess and his armour heavy.

"Ghost," rasped Praetor, as though his throat was dry. Hearing no response but the rustling wind outside, Praetor took a few deep breaths and heaved himself off the dash. He scrambled for a hand-hold to support himself, not trusting his feet alone with the task. With each step he took, more and more strength pulsed back into him. Mustering his voice he called out once more. "Ghost."

Once again, nothing. He was beginning to worry, just what had happened?

Leaning against his chair, the Guardian fumbled blindly along the wall for something he knew was there.

 _Ah_ , his fingers brushed against something. _There you are._ He grabbed hold and pulled it from the shadows.

A breach-action Hunting Shotgun. Matte black decorated with silver inlays along the two barrels. Its hand-crafted Walnut stock was home to a band of silver depicting the Tower and the Traveler. Slung along the underside of the gun was a simple leather strap.

It was a brother piece to a gift from a refugee whom he saved from a pack of Fallen. She had called it 'The Chaperone.' A fitting name to be sure, but for its brother, a new name was needed.

"Guardsman, my old friend," He breathed. Even now, Praetor still couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship that went into it. Every artist that was involved in its making wanted to thank him with something more than words.

He slung the weapon under his shoulder and continued to walk. As he neared the rear, where his Sparrow lay, his foot kicked something.

Praetor knelt down and gently held it up to the faint light. In his chest, he felt a pang of sorrow.

It was his Ghost's shell. Its Light had been extinguished. He was expecting, more hoping, to see a spark a flicker or something that would breathe life back into him. But it was silent.

He knew not how much time had passed as he knelt there, frozen, cradling his fallen Ghost in his hand. The other hand however, clenched in fury, rage, and despair.

Slowly, he rose. Carefully walking back to his chair, he kept his hand still as he stared into the Ghost's lifeless eye, willing, wishing and hoping that it would shine that magnificent blue once more.

He gently placed the Ghost down onto the dashboard, directly in front of him. His strength left him once more, as he fell into the chair.

His mind was at a loss. What was he to do? Without the Ghost, he would be lost… No longer a Guardian.

* * *

Days went by… He saw it through the window. Sunset and Moonrise, Moonset and Sunrise. For those days, he felt nothing. Not tiredness, not anger, not even sorrow. For him, time was still as he processed that single thought.

 _He is Gone_

As the third sun rose, so did the Guardian. He had grieved. Now it was time to look after himself. He gathered some ammunition and stepped towards the emergency exit hatch. Resting on a rack next to it was a weapon he had not used in decades.

The gun was a simple Scout Rifle. Meant for mid-range engagements. The barrel ran the length of the gun, ending in a bullpup with a blocky magazine. Attached to the top rail was a simple 2x scope. A silver cowl hung over the barrel's exit, sweeping forward into two bladed edges which were stained red.

It was a prize he found during a raid on Mars, the local Cabal population were getting a bit too cocky and started attacking Guardian outposts. Praetor was sent in with two others. Only he came back out.

After the battle with the enemy, both were mortally wounded and their Ghosts crushed under the heavy boots of the Cabal. They asked Praetor for mercy, for him to grant them a quick death without suffering. He had obliged them with a heavy heart.

'The Coil' was a rare reminder of his mortality. Right now, he could use that reminder at all times. Especially without his Ghost to aid him.

He reverently grasped the rifle and pulled open the small emergency hatch.

Only for a gnashing jaw full of teeth to try force the door open faster. A quick punch stunned the beast long enough for Praetor to close the door before kicking it, nearly knocking it off the hinges. The beast on the other side was sent sprawling to the ground with a slight whimper. It quickly attempted to run, but was pinned by Praetor's boot as a bullet entered its brain.

 _Stupid_ , Praetor berated himself. _Should've been watching the motion sensor_. Seeing as it was currently clear, he knelt down and quickly examined the beast. The best way he could describe it was if a pre-Golden Age wolf had been tainted by the darkness itself. Its head was covered in a bone plate with two glowing red-yellow eyes and a large snout. The ink black fur was sometimes broken up by bone spikes mostly prominent along the spine.

Before he could check it further, he noticed several wedges from his motion sensor light up. He snapped The Coil up to his shoulder and did a quick sweep, revealing more of the same creatures amongst the woods.

 _Pack animals then?_

The largest, and spikiest, of them easily stood twice as tall as the next in line. Praetor trained his gun on it as it stalked around until it was in front of him.

 _An alpha?_ He guessed.

It looked at him with curious animosity, examining him carefully. It turned its head slightly and snuffed at a couple of smaller beasts, who immediately tried to rush Praetor without a second thought.

"Testing me for weakness are you? Smart." The words, left him as he brought The Coil to bear.

The first was quickly gunned down with a couple of well-aimed bullets, the second however got close enough to swing its claw. Praetor stood his ground and weaved around the sloppy swing and delivered a punch to the side of its jaw, snapping the beast's neck from the sheer power behind it. The moment it died however, the body began to quickly dissolve with a purple wave that spread from the point of impact.

Wisps of purple flew off the body and flew into Praetor as a purple-blue aura formed around him. In a microsecond, his gun was reloaded and was shooting into the pack as he waded slowly towards them.

The Alpha howled an order and quickly bounded into the dark woods with three other large ones quickly behind it. The little ones that stayed behind charged Praetor as a whole.

Praetor took aim at the lead beast and cocked back his arm as if to throw a ball. As he began to swing it forward, a small ball of energy materialised in his hand. Praetor's aim was true and his grenade stuck and then exploded a second later, obliterating the front line of the beasts. Just before the energy dissipated, it suddenly rushed back and coalesced, before exploding once more taking out even more beasts.

The rest were undeterred and pressed their assault. Praetor slammed home another clip and let fly with another string of bullets. The lucky ones that got close had their bones broken as Praetor spun around their strikes and delivered both bullets and blunt force trauma.

One clever beast circled around, climbed on the ship and waited until the Guardian's back was turned to leap. That particular one earned a broken face-plate and two bullets to the heart as it was caught, slammed into the ground and fired upon.

With their numbers dwindling, the survivors beat a hasty retreat to the safety of the surrounding forest. Their howls grew faint as they drifted further away and once they had stopped all together, he lowered his weapon.

 _They'll come back with greater numbers,_ thought Praetor. The creatures behaved similar to wolves on Earth but with some key differences. The Alpha didn't attack, instead it decided to stay back, watch and examine how he fought. That meant it was much smarter than the ones that did attack. No doubt it figured that once Praetor showed his hand, it knew it wouldn't win.

"I need to move," he decided. Keeping the Coil in his hands, he climbed back inside the ship.

* * *

Several hours later Praetor's heavily armoured boots stepped out into the snow,

Inventory was his first priority, figuring out what he had, and how much he could carry. On his person, he was able to fit pouches of ammunition. Without the Ghost, he would be unable to carry a heavy weapon, such as a machine-gun or rocket launcher. Luckily, he came up with a solution.

The Sparrow had been mangled in the crash, thankfully however several of its components remained intact. Namely the hover module. He had tied the hover module and the ship's emergency power supply to a gun rack he had cleared and pulled from the wall. Laying on the rack, covered by a tarp, was a single machine gun with a few boxes of ammunition and provisions that he would need to survive. All of it, he would pull along with a small rope that was tied to his belt.

The whole thing was tied together with some high-tensile wire that the hunters were so fond of.

The final thing he needed to do was decide on a direction. Without a proper direction or long-term goal, he was sure to wander aimlessly.

 _A sure fire way to attract trouble_ , mused Praetor. _I need to get up higher, to get a better view of the surroundings._

The Guardian trudged off towards the nearest rise, leaving deep tracks in the snow.

* * *

After a solid hour of walking, Praetor had made it to a hill top.

"I should get a good view from here," muttered Praetor. "Ok, initial survey reveals… One big ass mountain, One very large forest and…" he paused, seeing something quite favourable. "A whole bunch of chimney smoke."

Seeing as he lacked a compass, the only way he could note the direction of the possible village was 'That way'. At the very least it was opposite the mountain, so he had a bit of a direction to head in if he got too turned around. And as for now he held high-ground, so Praetor decided to indulge a little.

A few minutes later, he re-sealed his helmet and set off in the direction of the smoke.

It wasn't too much later that the sun had set and the moon began to shine. He honestly expected it to be darker. Perhaps it was a full moon tonight, he wouldn't be able to check until he got to a clearing.

"Ask, and ye shall receive." Praetor grunted, as he caught sight of such a clearing not too far from him. "Won't happen if I ask for a way back home, will it?"

He was answered by the chirps of insects. "I thought not."

Stepping out into the clearing, Praetor finally got a good look at the moon.

"Huh, that's certainly new." He whispered in awe. Above him shone an orb of a brilliant white. One side was almost identical to Earth's moon, Luna, whilst the other half was little more than scattered chunks of rock floating lazily after the larger piece. "I wonder what caused that."

He shook his head, this was no time to sit around pondering. He was in possible enemy territory, not to mention the wilderness.

"One problem at a time, Praetor." He said to himself. Just as he took a step, something flickered in his peripheral. Praetor turned to look, but nothing seemed out of place and the motion sensor hadn't even been triggered. With a simple shrug, he reasoned that his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Back in the bushes, a child with little cat ears and bright eyes poked their head out to see the big man leaving. In a flash they were running back to the road.

* * *

Aubrey was scared. There was a big man with guns walking towards her home, she had to tell Mummy and Daddy. She was out playing when she saw the man stop and look at the moon. Aubrey wasn't scared of the monsters, Daddy and his friends always kept them away from the village. Mummy always told her to never go outside at night though. But why shouldn't she go out at night if the monsters were scared away? _Ugh grown-ups._

Aubrey's head hurt when she tried to figure out who was right. But that didn't matter right now, Aubrey needed to get home and tell them about the big man with the guns.

"Grrr…"

At first, Aubrey thought that it was her tummy rumbling. But she remembered that she ate a cookie not that long ago, so it couldn't be her tummy. Confused, she looked over her shoulder to see what was making that noise.

* * *

The instant that Praetor heard the scream, he was bolting in the direction it came from.

He burst through some shrubbery and fell feet first onto a road. Praetor didn't have to search far to find the source of the scream, as it was currently being chased up a tree. The source in question was a red-haired young girl, who was terrified out of her mind as she tried to scramble higher.

What was chasing her however was quite terrifying, even by his standards. It was an ink-black bear, not unlike the wolves before, though with much more mass. He didn't loiter as he snapped the rope connecting him to the cart and levelled Guardsman at the beast. A thundering crack rang out as he pulled the trigger, sending a slug shot right into the bear's mask. Coincidentally, said shot also sent the body connected to the mask flying into another tree.

The threat dealt with, Praetor hit the breach on Guardsman and a spent shell flew out of its slot. As the shell came down, he caught it with his off-hand and slotted a fresh one.

"Kid, come on down. It's dead." He called up.

"No!"

"Yes, it's dead. It's safe now."

"Go away!"

The child was quite stubborn and possibly still quite scared. Praetor was at a loss, he never had to deal with children back at the Tower.

"…I can't." Admitted Praetor. "I'm lost… but if you show me the way, I can get you home safely."

"…Really?"

"Yes."

"…Really, really?"

At this show of innocence, Praetor couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. "Yeah, really, really."

"…Ok." The little girl finally relented. Slowly climbing down from the tree, she gave him a quick, wary glance. Once she was on the ground she looked so tiny, so much so that even when he knelt down he still towered over her. With Guardsman slung over his back, he offered his hand to her.

The little girl hesitated, looking at him with wide yellow eyes. He almost flinched when he saw her hair twitch a little. A closer look revealed two little, furry ears atop her head that occasionally moved. After what seemed like an eternity, the little girl finally grasped his hand. Praetor rose to a stand slowly, letting the girl pull him along.

"It's this way." She quietly said, pulling at his larger hand. Praetor fell into step with her.

"…What's your name, little one?" Praetor asked after a while.

"…I'm Aubrey." She mumbled.

"Well, Aubrey, my name is Praetor. It's nice to meet you."

They continued in silence for a few minutes. Aubrey too scared to talk and Praetor unable to effectively socialise with children.

"Umm…" Aubrey began, struggling to find her voice. "…Are you here to get rid of the monsters, Mr Paetor?" she finally asked. That had given Praetor pause. He didn't want to disappoint the child, but he didn't want to needlessly lie to her, he doubted he could even correct her about his name.

"If they try to hurt anyone, then yes." He replied. That was true enough, he would have to kill the creatures that threaten people. It was his sworn duty after all. While he was musing, he almost missed little Aubrey draw closer to him and whisper.

"…Thank you."

* * *

The road to the village turned out to be quite short as they reached the wooden gates before either of them knew it. The walls were made of carved stone and curved around to where they met a cliff-face. The gate itself was on the crest of a hill, requiring travellers to reach it by a straight flight of stairs or a winding path for those in vehicles. Praetor had to admit, it was a wise defensive option. The weakest spot on the wall, the gate, being the easiest to defend. A pair of floodlights mounted on the high stone walls illuminated area, providing the night guards a clear view of the road.

The second they saw Aubrey, the guards scrambled, muffled orders sounded out and several guards took position above the gate. A small door on the gate opened and two people stepped through. A man and a woman, Aubrey's parents no doubt.

"Aubrey!" The woman called, her own auburn hair in frazzled tangles and tears staining her face as she rushed forward to her child. She had obviously been quite distraught over her missing daughter. Praetor didn't get a good look, but he swore that she had ears on her head like her child.

"Mummy!" exclaimed Aubrey, running ahead to her mother and father, leaving Praetor to slowly catch up. Praetor had seen this scene many times before. The City had many refugees and a lot knew each other. Sometimes there were people who broke down in the street, knowing that their friends and family never made it to the City. He was glad this was not one of those times.

Despite the touching reunion, the father had urged his family and Praetor inside. Aubrey's mother had taken to carrying her daughter, she probably did not trust the child to not run off again.

Inside the high walls lay the small village, home to anywhere between fifty to one-hundred families if the number of buildings were anything to go by. A third of the walled-off area was used as farm-land and was separated by a small river. The roads were paved with cobble-stones and were well lit due to the numerous lamp-posts dotted around. In the middle of the village was the town hall, noticeable bye its clock tower.

As Praetor was looking over the village, the father, a dark-haired man with a short beard, came up to him and gave a bow. On the man's back was a rifle, showing that he was likely a member of the guard. Similar to his daughter, he also possessed a pair of ears on his head and yellow irises.

"Thank you for keeping our daughter safe, Huntsman." The man straightened himself and held out his hand to shake. "I'm Blaine, my wife and I owe you a great debt. I don't want to think of what might have happened to Aubrey, had you not found her."

"Praetor and that is not necessary." Praetor protested, after shaking his hand. He would not correct the man on his status, he had gotten plenty of it from refugees at the City. "I'm just glad she made it home safely."

"I must insist," Blaine pushed. "It wouldn't be right if I didn't thank you properly."

"…Very well." Praetor relented with a sigh. "I don't have anywhere to be, nor do I need anything particular."

"Y'know what?" asked Blaine. "We can let you stay at our house for as long as you need."

"I do not wish to impose."

"It's no imposition, we have plenty of room for a big fella like you." Blaine flashed a smile. "Come on I'll even give you the whole tour tomorrow."

* * *

Blaine had been kind enough to let him keep his unneeded weapons in a locked cabinet in the tool shed if he wanted. While Praetor was putting away his things, Blaine and his family ate their dinner. Blaine had said he was welcome to join them but Praetor never liked to take advantage of people's hospitality.

Praetor also had to disassemble his hover-sled, the battery and hover-module were safely stored with The Coil and his Machine-gun in the cabinet, he had opted to keep Guardsman close as it had saved his life many a time before.

After he was certain that everything was settled, Praetor made his way into the home. The first thing that greeted him was a rush of warm air, courtesy of the living room fire place. The second was the smell of a home-cooked meal, the aroma almost made Praetor regret waving off Blaine's offer. Third came the warm and well-lit environment, complete with rustic and comfy-looking furniture. The family were in the adjoining kitchen, cleaning up from the sounds of it.

Upon hearing the door close, Blaine peeked out and quickly excused himself from his family, earning a half-hearted glare from his wife.

"Praetor, come on in." Blaine invited. Praetor nodded as he quickly shook snow off of his boots. "You sure you don't want anything? We got left-overs…" Blaine tried to bait him.

"No thanks, I'd just like to get some sleep, I'm running on fumes at the moment." Praetor admitted, he had no actual idea of when he slept last. He didn't remember falling asleep while mourning the Ghost or perhaps it was before he even accepted the mission.

"Oh, no problem, I'll show you the guest room." Blaine guided him to a flight of stairs and down a hallway. As they passed a few doors, Blaine told him what was behind them, Parent's room, Aubrey's room, bathroom, etc.

"…And this is the guest room." He announced, turning the handle and giving the door a slight push. The room itself was pretty sparse, with only a sturdy bed, a small wardrobe and a window. "It's not much, but I'm sure it will do."

"It's quite fine, thank you." Praetor assured. "If you will excuse me, I need some sleep." Blaine nodded, bid him a good night and left.

All at once, his exhaustion caught up with Praetor. He felt his arms and legs aches, his head burned with overuse and his eyes felt heavy. He couldn't even unsling Guardsman before he collapsed onto the bed, sleep enveloping him.

* * *

Downstairs, Blaine watched the News with concern while his wife, Scarlet tucked Aubrey into bed.

"The investigation into recent attacks on the Schnee Dust Company have been concluded, with the attacks believed to have been caused by the Faunus Rights Organisation, The White Fang." The reporter spoke. "Originally a peaceful group, The White Fang sought equality for all Faunus through protests, rallies and petitions. With these recent attacks however, favour with the organisation has plummeted.

"The White Fang has made no attempt to claim responsibility for these attacks nor has made any comment about them. Attempts at contacting The White Fang have so far, been met with silence. Eye witness reports identify several perpetrators bearing an altered version of The White Fang's logo." An image of a white wolf on a field of blue was shown next to a black wolf bearing three jagged marks on a white field. "If anyone has any information regarding the events, they are encouraged to contact their local police department. This is Lisa Lavender, Vale News."

As the news winded down, Blaine fell back into his seat, sighing and massaging his temples. At the same time Scarlet came back down.

"The White Fang is getting violent." Blaine muttered. "Hopefully, they'll be too tied up with Vale to worry about this little place."

* * *

Chapter 1 End

 **Hey guys, I'm back with another instalment. Sadly I fell short of my target by about 500 words, but I couldn't think of anything to stuff it further.**

 **Hopefully you liked it and I have missed writing, and sorry, but I don't answer questions in the reviews.**

 **If you have any critical feedback you'd like to leave, by all means, do so. It benefits us both.**

 **Next time I'll try for a full 5k words.**

 **So until next time, Bye!**


	3. Chapter 2: Something to Fight for

A Step too Far

Chapter 2

Something to Fight for

An old Titan decides to climb off the walls and take a step away from the Traveler. He never intended to walk so far.

* * *

A month passed and Praetor found himself as the town's exterminator. The Grimm in the surrounding area had been much less active since his incursion, at least according to the Captain. She was probably thinking that he had put down so many that they're afraid to come out anymore. Praetor knew too little of these creatures to even try to dispute her.

All over the town was a thick blanket of snow and the river had frozen solid. He often saw kids sliding across it and having snowball fights on the banks. Every few days, a caravan would come through giving the town some more food or fuel. From his viewpoint on the wall, Praetor could make out the power generator nestled against the cliff-face. He hadn't quite figured out what powered the town, it could run on hard-labour for all he knew. Whatever it was, it was enough to keep lights on at night and power general appliances.

Praetor turned his attention back to his shift. This was quite similar to his time on the City's wall, before he let his job be handled by bots and young Guardians with something to prove. He felt nostalgic, but it wasn't pleasant.

Praetor felt bored.

* * *

The snow was slowly beginning to melt away and the first hints of spring were showing through. Praetor had been asked to patrol the surrounding forest for Grimm. He held Guardsman in his hands as he swept through the area. He already encountered two groups of Beowolves, the name for the wolf-like beasts, that hadn't proved much of a challenge.

As he walked through the forest, he could often hear the caw of a raven. Praetor paid it no mind, thinking it was nothing. Upon entering a sizeable clearing, he was quickly dissuaded of that frame of mind as a giant black feather lodged itself tip first right in front of him. At a second, Praetor took off in a sprint, dodging more and more razor-tipped feathers that peppered the ground around him. Glancing up, he saw his target. A massive masked black-bird with swords for talons.

The bird screeched as it descended, raising its talons to scoop him up. Seeing this, Praetor began running away from it, only to leap to the side as it raked its talons across the ground, gouging away the earth. It flew away and came about for another run. Praetor smiled beneath his helmet as he brought his right arm back and grasped something invisible. With an exalted shout, his body caught alight and he pulled a flaming Warhammer from thin air.

With a spin, Praetor hurled it towards the oncoming raven and the bird made no move to evade, meeting the flying hammer head-on. As the hammer met its mark, it exploded, scorching one of the massive bird's eyes, making it recoil violently and impact the ground before sliding to a stop at Praetor's feet.

Pulling his hand back, the Hammer reformed with a resounding clang, drowning out the pitifully angry cries of the raven. The bird snapped at him with its beak and Praetor planted one foot on the grounded bird beak and brought the hammer down upon its mask, splitting it in two. Flames spread along the raven's body quickly, burning it alive as it gave a weak screech.

The flames left Praetor's body as he walked away, his heart still thumping. He felt alive again, like he did when he was a fresh Guardian, when he first felt the Traveler's Light.

The rest of his patrol was sadly devoid of any conflict. That mattered little though, he knew that there were threats powerful enough to be considered threats.

The thought alone tugged at his lips.

* * *

A loud bell echoed throughout the town, stirring the residents and shocking them silent as they understood its meaning.

The town was under attack.

Praetor was already donning his armour by the second toll and was out of the house by the third. As the door swung close behind him, he could hear the screams and shrieks of nearby families as they broke their silence. Some people barged out their doors brandishing weapons and others ran towards the centre of town. The Titan ignored them all, rushing towards the walls at full speed, shotgun in hand. Atop the wall, several people from the militia were firing with wild abandon, the air splitting from the crack of bullets.

"Praetor!" it was the guard captain. "Stay off the walls, and take down anything that- oh shit!" She suddenly clasped a hand over her mouth as one of the militia was grabbed by a clawed hand and yanked off of the wall. Even amongst the gunfire and bell tolls, Praetor heard the man screaming to his last breath.

In mere seconds, the wall was overrun with Beowolves and Creeps. The guard was all but obliterated, their screams adding to the mounting number. The world seemed to slow as Praetor looked on as the red-eyed beasts tore them apart. Each drop of blood that stained their claws, each scrap of flesh that was torn, Praetor saw it all in perfect clarity. Then, the beasts turned their attention to him.

For once, the Titan didn't know what to do. Never in his long life had he see such brutality, not even from the Hive. As the beasts descended upon him, his vision blurred into white.

* * *

He blinked. He wasn't dead, he could feel the weight of his armour and the familiar grasp of Guardsman in his hand. He was kneeling on scorched ground and his breathing was laboured. Arduously, he pushed himself onto his feet, almost collapsing from the fatigue in his legs. His ears perked. It was the sound of licking flames. Lifting his head, he almost wanted to fall back down. Laid out in front of him were bodies, hundreds of bodies, each one charred beyond belief.

From behind him, he heard a wheeze and a pained cough. Praetor wheeled around instantly, and almost regretted it instantly. Leaning with his back to a brick wall, was Blaine. His limbs were little more than stumps of cauterised flesh and what little clothing he had on were smouldering scraps of cloth.. The skin on his face had melted like hot wax and his trademark beard was singed away, even the ears on his head were entirely burned bare. The only place that was left untouched by fire was his left eye, the yellow iris almost glowing.

"Why?" The father wheezed. "…Why did… you do… this?"

Praetor felt Guardsman slip from his grasp and clatter to the ground, looking back towards the bodies. Like a heartbeat, he felt the flames throbbing. These flames were his, he killed them.

Turning back to Blaine, he caught sight of a smaller body, hiding behind him. Praetor felt the blood freeze as he realised who it was. The body wasn't as charred as her father, but it was unmistakably, Aubrey.

"…she's… dead." Blaine's single eye glared at Praetor. "She died… believing… that you'd… save us."

"I… I-"

"Finish it." Blaine breathed, closing his eye and painfully breathed in. "Let me… be with… them.

Praetor nodded slowly, and picked up Guardsman. With shaking arms, he levelled it at the father's chest.

The shot echoed through the air.

* * *

He didn't stay in the next town long. Barely long enough to hitch a ride from a caravan driver and rest. After he woke, the truck was already moving. To help ease his tension, Praetor drank form his canteen, but it didn't help as the water tasted like ash on his tongue. His hands tightened around his canteen as the memories from before trickled back.

The caravans were simple four wheeled vehicles with large trays mounted on the back, leaving the front for the driver and maybe a privileged passenger. They reminded Praetor of pre-golden age trucks that were used to haul cargo from place to place.

Praetor sat in the back with the cargo, letting his head lean on the more secure boxes, the ones with a snowflake imprint. The driver said the journey to a place called 'Vale' would take roughly three days. Two of those days had already passed and Praetor was starting to get a little anxious, he felt like something was wrong. He was so anxious that he didn't even take his entire armour off while he slept.

Just when he was calming down, the truck driver's head exploded.

Praetor went sailing through the air as the truck suddenly picked up speed and quickly slammed into a tree. The Titan pulled himself to his feet and sprinted towards the truck, muffled shouting coming from down the road.

The driver was most certainly dead, his blood and brains scattered all over the window. The shouting grew closer and figures began to emerge from the woods. With very little time, Praetor scooped up his nearest weapon, his Machine gun, 'Azure.'

It was a custom job from Banshee, the Tower's gunsmith. It was painted a dark blue with small blue flame decals on the cowling covering the barrel. Praetor could only smirk morosely as it accurately depicted its function. He slid in a clip and attached the ammo belt before taking aim at the leading figure. The optics turning from orange to red as it entered range. Bullets exploded out the barrel at a slow pace, each one blooming into a blue fireball as they impacted their targets.

Then the Grimm sprinted onto the road.

* * *

 _This is it_ , Blake thought, preparing herself to fight Grimm for the very first time. She was high above them, perched on a tree branch looking over the ensuing battle. So far the plan had gone off without a hitch, the sniper forced the truck off the road and now the ground team would go in to secure the cargo. The problems seemed to snowball since then.

A Huntsman had shown up and gunned down the ground team and now Grimm were swarming the place.

Blake looked down at the black beasts snarling and snapping their maws at the Huntsman who kept pace ahead of them, seemingly grouping them together as he fired pot-shots from his massive gun. She looked at her own pistol and knife in her small hands, they were paltry and insignificant to the weapon the Huntsman wielded, it was huge and fired bullets that exploded into blue fire, the only way she thought it could be better was if it was also a sword!

Right then, a small Beowulf stopped directly below her sniffing the air. It was only for a moment, but she took the opportunity to let herself fall, grasping her knife with both hands and ready to plunge it into the beast's exposed neck. Her small body shook from the fall, but her aim was true and the knife stabbed deep into the Grimm's neck. It only struggled for a second, but it quickly collapsed, the yellow light fading from its eyes and its body slowly turning to ash to be carried away by the wind.

Blake fell to the ground, huffing and her heart racing. Her hands were shaking from how nervous she felt from the kill. Once she was able to pull herself against a tree trunk, she took a deep breath and a grin slowly formed.

 _I did it. I killed a Grimm. Everyone will be so proud of me!_ She had proved that she could be a Huntress. She would grow up and be powerful just like them and make people see that Faunus weren't worthless. In her excitement Blake almost forgot her knife, still stuck in the Beowulf's neck and went to retrieve it.

Blake didn't notice the wave of crackling electricity before it was too late.

* * *

The smell of Ozone filled his nostrils as Praetor rose. It was a simple tactic, lure the beasts into a large group then finish them off with a Fist of Havoc, the 'Titan Smash' as many hunters would jokingly call it, many quickly became intimately familiar with it after making that joke however.

The wave of Arc energy disintegrated the pack of beasts instantly. At this observation, Praetor felt like he had forgotten just how adept he had become with it over the years. The wave had reached further than he thought, almost back to the caravan.

In the ensuing silence, he heard a pained moan. Without even thinking, he was moving in that direction instantly, his machine gun at the ready.

A distance from the road, he came across a young girl who was curled up in a ball, occasionally wincing in pain. Instantly, he felt a pang in his chest and his mind flashed back to the small, charred body hiding behind her father.

"Not again." He decreed to himself. "Never again."

Hesitantly, he knelt down and rolled her onto her back. She was passed out and judging from the lingering ozone smell, the blast from his Fist of Havoc had washed over the area and hit her. The question of how she survived lingered in the back of his mind.

Praetor slung his weapon over his shoulder and picked her up. Bit of crushed leaves stuck to her short, jet black hair and dirt smeared her pale skin, but he doubted that would bother her as long as she was alive. A deep sigh later and he was cradling the young girl in his arms with her head resting against his shoulder. He only shifted her once to retrieve his gear and continue along the path.

"You're not going to die on me."

* * *

Blake stirred with a groan, her eyes were still sealed shut and it took too much work to wrench them open. It was quickly apparent to her that she was being carried by someone, judging by the crunch of the earth and the jostling she was feeling. Her fingers and toes felt like they were full of pins and needles and she could feel the sun on her face, almost compelling her to sleep more.

With enough effort, Blake finally managed to open her eyes a fraction. The sight of gleaming golden and black plates filled what little of her vision she had available.

"Good, you're awake." Rumbled her carrier, shocking her out of her tired and dazed state.

Blake tried to open her mouth to speak, but her mouth felt like sandpaper and thus what she tried to say came out in a weak and pained cough that wracked her chest and watered her eyes.

The man, she guessed, sighed and walked over to a nearby tree. With a care she did not expect, he placed her down against the tree. He remained kneeling as he rummaged through a bag he was carrying and a short time later he produced a small tin canister and held it out to her.

Blake eyed the bottle held in front of her and wearily took note of the gauntlet that held it out to her. The plates were painted black with gold accents on the forearms and knuckles. The upper arm was home to a large curved pauldron that sported a golden image of a tower with a golden orb above it.

"Don't worry, it's just water." The man reassured.

Blake gave the man a short scowl, though it was ruined by her red cheeks and puffy eyes, before hesitantly taking the bottle out of hands. She didn't waste any time wrenching the cap off and drinking deeply. Sadly she drank too fast and started coughing as some water invaded her airways. The man softly thumped her on the back and the water was expelled.

"…thank you." She managed to say between gulps of air.

"No problem, little one." She could practically hear the smile behind his mask. "So tell me, why is such a young girl out here?"

Blake glared at him. "I can handle myself."

"I never said you couldn't." The man argued, leaning his helmet to the side a little. "Were you with those that attacked the truck?"

"…" Blake couldn't find it in herself to answer, instead she looked away and quickly found an interesting blade of grass to look at.

"I see." He said after a while. "Well, I reckon we're quite a walk from Vale, regardless of your involvement." The ground crunched as he stood up and hefted his bag over his shoulder and extended an open hand towards her. "Come on, kid. I'm not leaving you alone in this place."

His hand stayed there, not wavering even as she stared openly at it, like it was the oddest thing in the world. With no small amount of hesitation, she placed her small hand into his large one and was gently pulled up onto her feet. Not waiting for her to recover, he began walking. Blake quickly caught up to him and slowed down to match his pace.

She was wary of this man, but he did help her out. She'd stay with him until they got to Vale.

* * *

The days on the road were trying on both of them as they barely exchanged words. The young girl, Blake Belladonna as he came to know her, refused to be seen as defenceless, so much so that he had to surrender his Backup knife so that she would stop badgering him about the loss of her own weapons. She kept the four-inch long knife strapped to her side at all times, even when they slept.

In turn, Blake learned that Praetor was currently without any real purpose, only wandering around to slay Grimm. When she tried to press on the subject, he stated that he used to protect people. Her curiosity not satisfied, she tried to rifle through his things when he was gathering some food. All she found was some ammo, his canteen, some dust and a small grey-green pistol with an engraved circle with two wolves on the slide. Aside from the odd pistol, nothing really told her anything about the man.

On the fifth day, Praetor demonstrated just how powerful he was when a pack of Beowolves almost took them by surprise. He took on the beasts with just his gauntleted hands, mostly due to an ammunition shortage that he needed to rectify. Sadly, Blake didn't have to opportunity to watch him fight as one lucky Beowolf made it past Praetor and attacked her. Whilst breaking off to finish one of the dark beasts would keep Blake safe, it would also leave himself open to attack and grant the others an opportunity to rush past him.

Thankfully, he was glad to have given his knife to her, without it she would have been little more than dog-food. As the beast lunged towards her, Blake pushed off to the side and dashed back in with a stab of the knife. The blade wounded the Beowolf's shoulder, but it wasn't easily dissuaded from a meal. The beast snapped its jaws at her repeatedly and she stepped around each time, but the beast moved closer and closer with each attempt. Then, at last the Beowolf stretched its reach too far and Blake took the opportunity to plunge the knife into its weak neck.

The Grimm gurgled and coughed before falling silent as Blake's heart hammered away in her chest. Catching her breath allowed her to look around and see that the rest of the Grimm were killed and that Praetor was making his way towards her. He stopped short and crouched down to wrench the blade out of the Beowolf's neck.

"You alright, kid?" He asked from his crouched position over the slain beast.

Blake could barely hear him over the sound of her beating heart. She managed to a quiet, "I-I'm good."

"Glad to hear it." Praetor stood before, holding the knife's hilt towards her. "Good work, Blake."

Those simple words were enough to make Blake smile the most she had in a long time.

* * *

Once they were through the gate that would separate them from the wilderness, Praetor slowed to a halt and half-turned to face Blake. He took a deep breath, trying to find the best way to say his piece.

"I suppose, that this…" he gestured to the city around them. "…Is where we go our separate ways." Blake began to panic a little. Praetor was going to leave her, alone in the big city after traveling together. He either didn't know that it was practically a slow death sentence for a young, homeless Faunus to live by themselves or worse, he did but he didn't care. "You got a family or someplace you can go home to?" Blake tuned him out as she felt something building in her heart, a weight she couldn't place. This was someone who fought for her, who saved her when he could've easily left her alone in the woods. The weight turned into a jabbing pain, it hurt to think of this man leaving her alone after all he did.

"…don't." she mumbled, her hands clenched into fists and shaking with worry. Her voice was so quiet that he barely heard her. Seeing that something was wrong, Praetor crouched down to her level and gently held her shoulder. He didn't expect her to suddenly grab his hand with both of hers with the tightest grip she could muster, "Don't go."

Praetor felt his body lock up, and upon realising that he had very little experience with children, he gently pulled her in and carefully wrapped his other arm around her shoulders. Thankfully, Blake quickly recovered and drew back, keeping her hands close to her eyes, trying (and failing) to hide her tears. Every so often, her breath would hitch as she sniffed in some air.

Praetor lifted her chin so he could see her bright yellow eyes.

"Chin up, Kiddo." He whispered to her. Praetor lifted his hands to his helmet and gave a small twist and pulled it off to look at her with his own eyes. "If you don't want me to leave, I won't."

"Promise?" Blake sniffed, her puffy yellow eyes holding his gaze as she quietly held up her left pinkie finger. "Promise you won't leave?"

Surprised at the almost childish display, the Titan almost laughed as he gently wrapped his significantly larger finger around hers. "I Promise."

* * *

Later in the evening, Praetor had rented a hotel room for them both, He opted for the couch so that Blake would have the bed. Blake had spent most of the afternoon watching cartoons, she paid particular attention to one about an orphan who grew up hated by those around him. During one of the advertisement breaks, Praetor swore he saw her ears twitch during an ad about some book that was being made available.

As the show went on, the Titan began taking more notice of Blake. She seemed to grow more upset when the protagonist lamented his lack of parents or was mocked because of it. He chalked it up to her being invested in the plot, which he couldn't follow, and left it at that. Before heading to bed, Blake looked like she was about to say something but couldn't muster the courage.

"Is there something you want to ask of me, Blake?" Praetor spoke, making her jump in her seat. He tried to give her a reassuring smile. "It's ok, you can ask me anything."

"W-well," she stammered, turning her head away and twiddling her thumbs. "Can we umm… gotothebookstoretomorrow?" The words came out so fast that it was a wonder that Praetor even understood her while the poor girl's face turned redder than a tomato.

"That's fine with me." The Titan chuckled out.

"Really?" Blake looked up with pure excitement in her eyes. Praetor simply nodded at her question and the cat-girl smiled brightly.

* * *

"Sir, the entire squad sent to recover the cargo truck was wiped out."

"And the girl with them?"

"…We didn't find anything."

"… A shame."

* * *

AN: Hey, this is just an updated version of Chapter 2. When I first posted it, it was a lot less dark and was kind of underwhelming to me, so I've rewritten a whole bunch of things and I am much more satisfied with this version.

~Dys


	4. Chapter 3: Coming to Terms

A Step too Far

Chapter 3

Coming to terms

An old Titan decides to climb off the walls and take a step away from the Traveler. He never intended to walk so far.

* * *

A year went by and Praetor and Blake had been scraping by. The pair travelled via trains and by airships, something that still fascinated Praetor. He had learned that Dust, crystallised elements such as fire and lightning, apparently had universal applications to the people of Remnant. And through reading history texts and the occasional monument plaque, Praetor gained a basic knowledge of the last hundred years. There was a full scale war between the four kingdoms, simply known as the 'Great War'.

Peace from said War was apparently brokered on the Island of Vytal and as such the Vytal Festival was created to celebrate the event. The festival itself features a tournament, which Praetor and Blake were lucky enough to snag seats to, between teams from the four main Hunter Academies.

Blake was watching the current match with rabid attention. The large octagonal arena was split in two, one half an ice field and the other a desert with a sandy hill. One team was currently occupying the ice field and holding off the other team with various firearms. Praetor counted a sniper rifle, a pistol, a rapid-fire machine gun and even a bow firing dust-tipped arrows. The opposition was attacking with a fervour, moving in a serpentine pattern and firing of a couple of rounds when the defenders had a lull in their shots.

It was clear that the defenders favoured ranged tactics and evasion, while the attackers had an affinity for close combat. According to the Aura meter displayed on the large screen, the attackers were beginning to lose with most of their Auras showing yellow. Aura was apparently some kind of protective force field that was wielded by Huntsman, it was allegedly formed from the human soul. Didn't make a lick of sense to Praetor, but he accepted it regardless. Some Huntsmen also developed super-human abilities, called a Semblance.

Semblances are usually widely varied from person to person and seemed to range anywhere from super speed to channelling elements. One of the attackers seemed to have super strength, as demonstrated by him slicing right through a large chunk of ice in a single swing of his massive blade. His target, the bow wielder back flipped away and suddenly blinked out of existence, only to appear half-way across the field and loose an arrow at her attacker.

The arrow impacted and exploded into a fireball, sending the large swordsman out of the ring. To Praetor's shock, the girl's bow snapped into a blade and she charged the remaining attackers in a fast paced melee, utilising her blinking at every opportunity to distract them while her team took advantage of the opportunity to concentrate fire.

The match ended not long after and the audience was dismissed for the remainder of the day.

* * *

Praetor and Blake had wandered around the festival grounds for a few hours, sampling bits of food and trying out the games. Both of them wore casual clothing, leaving their gear back in the hotel. Praetor's hair had grown out, but he kept it as short as he could without visiting a barber. Throughout his hair were several grey streaks, in fact more than half of his hair was grey. The same went for his beard, which he kept trimmed.

Blake had also grown a bit taller and her pitch black hair reached her shoulder blades. She still kept Praetor's blade on her person at all times, it was a means of protection as well as a memento. Her figure was beginning to fill out as she had just hit puberty, something that Praetor had no idea how to deal with.

The two of them stood in front of a small noodle shop with Blake looking longingly at a bowl of noodles, what really captured her attention was the chopped tuna heaped on the top. Her belly rumbled at the sight of such a delicious treat. Praetor chuckled as she blushed from embarrassment.

"Do you want some Blake?" he asked, looking at the small stand.

"…yeah." She replied meekly.

Blake slowly moved towards a seat with Praetor following behind. The two took seats and were immediately greeted by the proprietor.

"Hi there, what can I get you guys?" the man greeted with a bright smile.

"…I'll have what you recommend." Said Praetor.

The owner wrote on his notepad, then turned to look at Blake but quickly saw her ears and frowned.

"We don't serve _her_ kind here." He snarled. As they were traveling, Praetor and Blake had seen some rather unfair things happen. Very few times it had gotten to the point that they would need to interfere. As it was Blake was always ready to stand up for her fellow Faunus against unfair aggression. Things still hadn't settled after the Faunus Rights Revolution which allowed Faunus to seek their own place in the world. However several people still held grudges over the years. This resulted in unfair work practices, using Faunus people as cheap labour for mining and construction.

Needless to say, Praetor was not happy with this man's attitude. As much as he wanted to leap over the counter and break the man in two, he knew that it would not set a good example for Blake. Instead he stood up and left, leading Blake away by the hand.

"We'll find another place to eat." He told Blake, who looked very upset at what just transpired.

"…he was mean." She muttered.

"People can be Blake." Praetor agreed. "That's why you have to be strong, so people like that don't win. You have to be strong enough to prove that they're wrong." He sighed, relaxing his grip on her hand a little. "But sometimes no matter how hard you try, some people won't, can't change."

"Why though?" she looked up at him, questions burning behind her eyes.

"I wish I could answer that Blake," The Titan smiled mirthlessly. "I really do."

* * *

The next few weeks saw the two travelling from Atlas to Mistral. While the main stretch of the trip was by airbus, they would be let off at a small town a few hours travel from the city. The land surrounding the city was mostly marshlands and swamps with a few jungles.

As they landed, Blake took the opportunity to say something that had been bothering her.

"Praetor. Can you teach me to be a Huntress?" she asked, looking out her window. The question had been bouncing around her head for a long time, she had seen the man fight; he could shrug off the impact from a rocket without so much as a scratch and then utterly destroy his opponents with his bare hands. In her eyes, he was the perfect candidate to teach her.

"…I cannot."

"What!?" Blake all but shrieked, whipping her head around to stare at him. She was certain that he would say yes, the man had cared for her over a year, why wouldn't he show her how to be a Huntress? "Why not?"

Praetor gave her a sad smile and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I simply cannot." Before she argued further he held up a hand to stop her. "I didn't say that I couldn't show you how to fight however."

* * *

Blake panted as Praetor crouched in front of her. In her right hand was her knife, originally Praetor's, strapped to her leg was a pistol he bought her. The two had been sparring, with Blake's win condition that she land a hit on him. She had yet to accomplish that goal all day however.

"Do you want to take a break?" the Titan asked. Blake viciously shook her head, she wasn't going to give up so soon. "Alright then." Praetor took a stance, both his arms up to guard. "Attack when you're ready."

Originally she had been hesitant to attack, thinking she might somehow hurt him. He quickly proved her wrong by shooting himself with her gun without even flinching. Blake was also instructed to hold nothing back and do anything she could to hit him.

After taking one last gulp of air, she charged headfirst at him and feigning to the left before quickly changing direction and heading right. For half a second, Praetor could swear that Blake had created an afterimage before it disappeared a moment later. Despite this quick distraction, he leaped to her left and rolled into his stance, ready for the next attack.

Blake ran low to the ground, keeping her head bowed. As she came close to him, she scooped up some dirt and threw it at him. On reflex, Praetor closed his eyes and ducked to avoid the dirt. Blake on the other hand, used her natural agility to jump high over the Titan and come crashing down on his back, slashing the blade against his armour. It bounced off, but Praetor stood back up and smiled brightly at the girl and she smiled right back.

"Good job, Blake." He laughed out. "We'll take a quick rest before we start the next lesson, evasion."

Blake's smile was replaced by worry.

* * *

Every day, Praetor and Blake travelled on foot back towards Vale. Each time they stopped, Praetor took the opportunity to teach Blake something, whether it was practicing shooting targets or full out fighting. At this point in time, the two were squaring off in a forest not too far from their campsite.

Blake grunted as she attempted to block one of Praetor's punches, luckily he was pulling them and not throwing them at full force. She rolled with the momentum and sprung back onto her feet and dashed away from another punch that shattered a small tree. Blake didn't even have a second before she was on the retreat once again with Praetor nipping at her heels. She turned to block another punch so she could dodge the next one.

CRACK

"Aigh!"

Praetor stood there, his arm outstretched and his eyes wide open as Blake writhed in pain on the ground, holding her arm.

"Blake!" Praetor immediately dropped to her side and held her up by the shoulders, careful not to jostle her too much. "Blake, I know it hurts but please bear with it." He carefully pried her hand away from her arm and he quickly felt sick. Blake's arm was twisted at a wrong angle. He carefully picked her up by looping his arms under her knees and around her shoulders. "Don't worry Blake, you're going to be alright."

He brought her back to the camp, being very careful not to jostle her along the way. They had set up camp in an old ruin up against a cliff and with only one way in or out, it was easily defensible. Praetor laid her down on her bed roll and quickly fetched their medical kit. In a few minutes Blake's arm was properly set, splinted and bandaged. He lifted her back up into a sitting position and held out a pain killer and a water bottle. Wearily, Blake used her good arm and swallowed the pill. Praetor lifted the bottle to her mouth let her drink. Soon after, her eyes started flickering and she began to drift off to sleep.

The worried old Titan built a small fire and begun his night long watch.

* * *

The morning light shone over the camp as Praetor stood vigil. As soon as the light hit his eyes, the Titan almost immediately fell asleep. He had been keeping watch the entire night, and with all the traveling he and Blake had done the day before he hadn't gotten any sleep for at least thirty-six hours. Any shadow that moved funny or any sound that wasn't right set him on edge. It reminded him of the Hive caves on the moon, any mistake would bring their horde upon any interloper.

Praetor was so focused on the entryway, he didn't notice Blake stirring from her sleep. Blake was almost tempted to just sleep for a while longer, but then she remembered the events of the previous day and immediately felt her arm.

There was no pain. It felt completely normal, like her arm hadn't broken like a twig. In one of those rare times, she was thankful for joining the White Fang. She quietly got up and walked over to Praetor, who still hadn't noticed her. He jumped when she slid her hand into his.

"Blake!" he exclaimed in shock. "I didn't hear you get up. Is your arm feeling well?" He asked in worry, crouching down to her level.

"It's fine, it's all better now." She replied calmly.

"What? How?"

"My Aura, it was unlocked when I joined the White Fang." She explained with no small amount of shame. Praetor tenderly grasped her arm and examined it. It was perfectly healed, not even a scar.

"Well, if you want to keep moving, we can." He sighed. "There's a town not too far from here, we might be able to catch an airbus to Vale." The Titan stood back up and made towards his gear.

Praetor may have hid it well, but Blake could see the hurt in his eyes as he examined her arm. He was remorseful, sad that it happened at all and probably running through the scenario again and again, trying to find a way to fix it.

"I forgive you." She whispered. Praetor stopped and let go of the breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Thank you Blake." He whispered back. "I'm sorry it happened at all."

* * *

According to many Huntsman and Huntresses, it was almost a necessity to attend a preliminary combat school before enrolling in a Hunter Academy. There were exceptions however. If one made a good enough showing in the enrolment tests, previous education was ignored.

As it was however, Praetor was not confident enough to risk his sole training of Blake being enough for her to be accepted to one of the academies. The last time he took her on seriously, he ended up hurting her more than he could bare. If he could not train her, she might do better learning amongst her peers.

Therefore, Praetor decided it was wiser for Blake to attend Signal Academy in addition to his training. Unfortunately, the costs for tuition was staggering. He'd have to take numerous jobs abroad to even afford it, even with their savings, let alone set her up with a place to stay.

Blake would be thirteen next year, the required age for young Huntresses and Huntsmen-to-be. By the time she would be seventeen, she could apply for Beacon to become a fully-fledged Huntress.

All this ran through his mind as they travelled via airbus to the island of Patch, where Signal Academy was located.

"Blake," he called. Knowing that the girl would listen to him. "How do you feel about attending Signal Academy?"

* * *

The island of Patch simple, its main city stretched across its eastern coast with Signal Academy's tower acting like a lighthouse for airships. Every building seemed to be made of brick and mortar unlike the sleek towers of Atlas and the rustic wooden houses of Mistral. It gave the town a homely and inviting feeling.

The home they rented was a simple two story house wedged in between two others of similar design. While it had a small backyard, it was unlikely to see much use. Blake immediately rushed upstairs and claimed dibs on the larger bedroom, which Praetor had no problem with. He helped her get settled in, moving the furniture to her demands and unpacking her belongings.

After which, he decided to take a walk to learn the neighbourhood. There was a pub on the a street corner a few blocks away and the grocery store was a scant fifteen minute walk away. The Titan purchased a few things for dinner and began his walk home. As he passed the pub, a dark haired, drunken man with a large blade strapped to his back walked out and bumped into Praetor, dropping his flask and spilling its contents all over the sidewalk.

"Damn it, watch where you're walking asshole." The drunk barked at Praetor, surprisingly coherent for a drunk man. There was also a dangerous glint in the man's eyes, something rather familiar to Praetor. The Titan wanted nothing to do with this man.

"You should follow your own advice." Praetor calmly responded, intent on walking away. As he began to walk, he heard the distinct sound of a weapon being drawn. He turned back to see that the drunk had his weapon at the ready, albeit upside down.

"You know, you remind me of someone." The drunk said, drawing out his words. "Someone that stepped into Vale about a year ago. A man in full armour with a little girl hanging off his arm." The drunk levelled his large blade at Praetor with one arm. "Ring any bells?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Praetor lied, taking another step. He didn't get far as the drunk dashed in front of him in the blink of an eye with his blade in mid swing towards the Titan.

Praetor stopped the blade from even hitting him by grabbing the blunt edge with his free hand, much to the shock of the drunk. All attempts to break his grip were thwarted by Praetor's sheer strength.

"What are you playing at?" The Titan growled with a glare at the other man.

"A simple test." The drunk smirked. "You appear out of nowhere and start taking jobs meant for Huntsmen. Did you think that no one would notice?"

"I have caused no harm!" Praetor practically shouted, indignant.

"This isn't about what you have or haven't done. You're dangerous and an unknown." The man's smirk turned into a frown. "That is very serious problem to certain people." The man gave one final wrench backwards and his sword folded down, freeing it from Praetor's grasp and revealing two gun barrels pointed at the Titan.

Praetor dropped his groceries and twisted his torso out of the way just as the gun fired a veritable wall of small pellets that grazed his chest but were stopped by his barrier. Praetor immediately retaliated, closing the distance and throwing an Arc enhanced punch towards the Huntsman.

The punch was blocked by the flat edge of the sword, although the force behind it pushed the Huntsman back several metres. Not giving his opponent any time to rest, Praetor sprinted towards the man, Arc energy building up around him as he drew closer and discharged it as he barrelled into the Huntsman, sending him flying down the street.

* * *

Qrow was a very dangerous man, ask any Hunter in Vale. Give him a target and it would be taken care of, no problem. The man in front of him however, wasn't like any other target, he was almost like a force of nature. It wouldn't be impossible to take him down, but it certainly would take a lot of effort, not to mention he would leave a fair amount of scars.

He was rather glad that the man didn't have his weapons and armour with him; that scenario would probably require Qrow to break out the Scythe… and maybe some back-up. But it wasn't his job to subdue or kill this man. He was to simply stall him until Ozpin waltzed in and had a chat with him. And Qrow really, really didn't want to piss off Ozpin… just in case the stories were true.

The fight had been going on for almost five minutes now. While this would usually draw attention, the part of town that they were fighting in was quite sparsely populated, so those who did witness the fight, immediately recognised Qrow and turned away. Besides, there hasn't been nearly as much collateral damage as there usually was.

Many of Praetor's punches came within inches of Qrow's face, although the same could be said of the reverse. It was clear to Qrow that Praetor was holding back, like he was afraid of doing anything lethal. That was a point in the right direction, Qrow figured. But it wouldn't be enough to let him off the hook.

Qrow got a little sloppy with one of his swings as Praetor grabbed the blunt side again and quickly head butted Qrow. Instead of falling on his ass, the Hunter rolled with the impact and slashed upwards, cutting through Praetor's barrier and leaving a shallow cut on the front of his shirt.

"Enough." Commanded an experience voice. Qrow immediately retracted his sword and stowed it away. "I believe this tussle has gone on long enough. Don't you, Mr Praetor?" Out of a nearby alley, walked an almost elderly man with a cane in one hand. He pushed his spectacles up a little with a free hand. The man's silver hair was a sharp contrast to his black three-piece suit. Praetor put this man's age at around late-fifties to early-sixties.

"Ozpin, about time you showed up." Qrow said in a bored tone.

"Well, I would have been earlier, but someone dropped their groceries and I had to make a quick delivery." Ozpin gave a slight smile at Praetor. "Now, might I suggest that we go somewhere else for a chat?"

* * *

Signal Academy was located a fair ways away from the main city and situated atop a hill. Unlike Beacon which was separated from the ground by sheer cliffs, Signal relied on a perimeter fence that merged onto the main city wall.

Qrow, Ozpin and Praetor sat around a table in the staff's breakroom in an awkward silence.

"So..." Praetor started. "What would you like to know?" he asked with his arms crossed.

"Are you a threat?" Ozpin asked bluntly, a coffee mug in his hands.

"No." Praetor answered equally as blunt.

"That is satisfactory."

"What?!" Qrow exclaimed, slamming down his flask, unable to believe what he heard.

"I believe him."

"How?"

Ozpin looked back at Praetor and stared at him. The man's eyes peered over his glasses and looked straight through Praetor. His deep green eyes seemed to be able to examine every single crease, hair and superficial detail.

"I can see it." He simply stated, as if it explained everything.

"Of course." Qrow sighed. "Look, Prey. Ozpin may be satisfied but I'm not." He leaned his arm against the table. "I want details, where did you come from and what are your intentions?"

"That seems fair, Qrow." Praetor leaned back in his seat and considered what to tell him. "The information you desire only pertains to the last two years. My life before then is irrelevant and I will not speak of it."

"Fine, just tell me what I need to know." Qrow switched arms.

"I lived in a village called Darkwood for four months, acting as a guard and slayer of Grimm. After those four months, I left to seek a better life. On my way to Vale, I was attacked by White Fang extremists. Among them was my charge, Blake Belladonna. She joined the White Fang to assist the Faunus in their protests, yet I suspect it was due to a lack of options due to being an orphan." Praetor paused to take a breath and sip from his glass of water. "I accompanied her to Vale and she has been in my care since."

For the past year we travelled around Remnant, taking jobs so that we could pay our way. A month ago, Blake expressed a desire to become a Huntress. I agreed to train her, but seeing as I am not a Hunter, we came to Patch in search of official training." He finished up the recount with drinking the last of his water. "Then the events of this night transpired."

"...Blake Belladonna…" Ozpin muttered, looking at his Scroll, the profile of a young, black haired girl on its screen. "Would you permit me to meet your charge?"

"What would be your intentions?" Praetor suddenly gained a very dangerous look.

"I merely wish to evaluate her with my own eyes." Ozpin waved the scroll. "These reports do not paint a clear picture."

"Very well." Praetor detected no ill intent from the aging man, besides if the man tried anything, he would be there to intervene. "You can visit tomorrow."

* * *

Despite the late time that Praetor returned, Blake had already cooked herself dinner and eaten. She even went so far as to leave something for him to heat up. Before he went to bed, the Titan quietly opened the door to Blake's room and entered. In the dark room, he made out her small form curled up under the sheets with her hair tied into a low pony-tail. As quiet as he could, Praetor snuck towards her and laid a light good-night kiss against her forehead.

"Sweet dreams." He whispered. While he retreated quietly and silently closed the door, Praetor missed Blake smiling as her eyelids fluttered open.

"…mmhm." She mumbled. "Papa?"

* * *

AN: So... This is a little awkward... I know that I said it wouldn't be until after Christmas, but I just couldn't stop writing this time. Is my writer's block finally over after 3 long years?

Doubtful, but regardless I'll keep going as long as I can.

Now I originally planned the previous chapter to be rather tragic and much darker. Remember Darkwood? I originally had planned for it to become overrun with Grimm, then for Praetor to go berserk in the middle of it, killing civilians and Grimm alike. Afterwards he would wake up and find little Aubrey's body, this would lead him into despair and eventually when he and Blake met, he would project the image of Aubrey onto her. He was supposed to protect her out of guilt and eventually see her as Blake, not the girl he failed to protect.

Now some of that I borrowed from 'The Last of Us', but to be fair I had just finished replaying it. I figure that the original plan sounds much more interesting, but for what ever reason I just couldn't write it.

But enough of that, who's played Grimm Eclipse? I have, playing as Blake of course. I have not been able to play as Yang or Weiss, but Ruby is just plain OP.

Ok, now I'll shut up. Until next time, keep those spirits up.

~Dys


	5. Chapter 4: Keeping Pace

A Step too Far

Chapter 4

Keeping Pace

An old Titan decides to climb off the walls and take a step away from the Traveler. He never intended to walk so far. Not once did he regret his decision.

* * *

Blake and Praetor clashed in the forest. They were practicing on taking down foes larger than one's self. Basically this meant that all Blake had to do was knock Praetor down, by any means necessary. Unfortunately this also meant that Blake had to step up her game as Praetor was actively attacking her. Thankfully, he was wearing civilian clothes and not his armour, since they were close to the wall. For whatever reason, Praetor had decided to double her training and push her harder.

'What ever happened last night made him nervous.' She thought, dodging a swing and utilising her Aura to dash up a tree in retreat. Her plan was foiled by Praetor kicking the trunk of said tree, ripping out its roots.

From his position on the ground, Praetor was quickly surprised as _two Blakes_ leapt out of the tree's canopy to different trees, one left and one right. Making a split decision he followed the right one and began to shoulder charge the tree, hoping to knock her to the ground.

He was unprepared for Blake to land on his shoulders, tipping his balance forward and sending him face first into the ground while she gracefully landed a backflip. Blake couldn't hold back a giggle as Praetor stood back up, shaking the dirt out of his hair and beard.

"What was that?" he asked, crouching down next to her.

"…I umm…" Blake stammered, looking away ashamed to meet his eyes, scared that he might be mad at her for keeping it a secret. "My semblance." She mumbled.

"Blake, I'm not mad." He assured her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You're not?" she looked up at him through her hair.

"Of course not, if anything, I'm proud." The Titan flashed her a smile. "You outwitted me on the battlefield. And believe me, that's not something that happens often." He tilted her head up and brushed her hair away from her face. "So come on, show me a smile."

Blake couldn't help but smile so much it hurt.

* * *

Blake felt sore all over, so much so that she fell asleep as soon as she collapsed on the lounge. She dreamed of slaying multiple Grimm with a chain-whip-gun-sword thing all with a single slash then swinging up onto a ledge and into the embrace of her wonderful, yet unnamed and faceless, boyfriend. In the space of a few short years she'd graduate as a full huntress and then stop all discrimination against Faunus.

Once she'd make enough money being a huntress, she'd marry her boyfriend and have many children. At her wedding she walked up to the altar with her Papa giving her away. At the reception he would dance with her and say that he was the proudest parent on Remnant.

Sadly, that's when she woke up to the sight of a bespectacled man holding a mug of something hot, judging from the smell it was hot chocolate. Blake let out a small shriek and scrambled back towards the far side of the lounge where Praetor sat, sipping his own cup of hot chocolate.

"My apologies, Miss Belladonna." The man gave a short bow with a friendly smile. "But I simply could not resist. You can get a good idea of someone's character by watching how they sleep."

"Who are you? How did you get in?" Blake levelled a shaking finger at him.

"Ah, where are my manners?" The man sat down in an armchair, placing his mug down on the coffee table and linking his hands in a dignified manner. "Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon. A pleasure to meet you."

"As for how he got in…" Praetor started. "…I let him in. He and I met last night, after a small story about my life, he asked to see you."

"Now, Miss Belladonna." Ozpin leaned back, his hands still clasped. "Why do you want to be a Huntress?"

Blake's jaw flapped up and down without a single sound making it out. Ozpin's eyes simply looked through her, making her doubt her original reason that she convinced herself with. Why did she want to be a Huntress? Praetor being proud? That felt more like a side effect than an actual reason. Faunus equality? Again, another side effect or maybe a later goal.

"It just… feels right." She lightly shook her head, her hair swishing back and forth. "I don't know how else to explain it." Blake laughed a little, expressing her embarrassment. "I mean, I have killed Grimm before, so I have more experience than most and Praetor's been training me."

Ozpin quirked an eyebrow, intrigued. "There is more to being a Huntress than slaying monsters, Miss Belladonna."

"I know, Hunters may be called upon to deal with threats other than the Grimm." She recalled.

"Good." The headmaster nodded. "Miss Belladonna… I feel that you will have an important role to play in the years to come." He told her. "It would be rather foolish of me to ignore my instincts when they have served me well over the years." He mused. "You can expect a letter of recommendation from me before you apply for Signal next year."

The bespectacled man stood up and walked to the door, with Praetor joining him to see him out.

"Thank you, Ozpin." Praetor extended his hand towards the headmaster.

"There is no need for thanks." Ozpin said humbly, accepting the handshake regardless. "After all, there is no knowing what will happen over the years. Farewell, Mister Praetor."

* * *

For the next week, Blake trained with her semblance at Praetor's behest. It was difficult, especially without someone to use it against. Before she woke up to Ozpin, he had given Praetor an honorary Hunter's license, in an attempt to prevent conflict with other Hunters.

At the moment the Titan was out on a mission to help a mining town in the wilderness. The payment was from the Schnee Dust Corporation, so it was good payment, but it likely employed a lot of Faunus.

Blake was attempting to use her semblance to attack. So far all she had managed to do was make her clone rush towards a tree before it dispersed. No matter what she tried, the clone wouldn't attack. Whether it was a lack of focus, technique or just plain talent, she couldn't tell. What she was certain of, was that Praetor's training would definitely help. He provided a legitimate threat and forced her to adapt her tactics as they fought.

She knew that there was a combat school in this town, but not once had she seen someone else training. Praetor left her a sizeable stipend so that she could purchase things in an emergency, but she mostly bought sushi from a nearby fast-food place. One time, while she was eating out, a blonde girl her age came in, holding a younger girl with red-hair and a red hood. The younger girl was complaining loudly that she didn't like fish, while the blonde tried to assure her that it's good. To Blake, anyone not liking was unfathomable to her. It was delicious, so tender, moist and it in came so many varieties.

"I don't like fish." The red-head declared, crossing her arms and turning up her nose, completely adamant in her decision.

"Come on Rubes, you've never even tried it. How do you know it's gonna be bad?" The blonde reasoned, nudging her with her shoulder.

"There's nothing to worry about." Blake joined in. "It's delicious, I eat it all the time. I love the soft, fluffy rice and the tasty fish, there's nothing like it." She wiped a little bit of drool away from her mouth.

"…um who are you?" The blonde asked, a little weirded out by Blake.

"Oh… umm, I'm Blake, sorry." The Faunus girl flushed bright red at being called out.

"No it's okay, I'm Yang and this is my little sister Ruby." The gold haired girl grinned as she introduced Ruby, who was peeking out behind her sister. "Ruby, say hi."

"Umm...Hi?" The redhead muttered quickly, before ducking back behind Yang. Instead of accepting this, Yang grabbed her by the shoulders and stood Ruby before her. "Howd'youdo?" Ruby was obviously nervous around new people, she probably never had to talk to strangers a lot. Not that Blake could talk.

"Hi there Ruby. It's nice to meet you." Blake gave the girls the kindest smile she could manage.

"I've never seen you around here before, are you new?" Yang moved the conversation along, seeing that Ruby wasn't able to think of anything to say.

"Yeah." Blake nodded, a small giggle escaping her. "Papa and I just moved here. I'm going to Signal Academy next year."

"That. Is. Awesome." Yang punctuated every word with excitement. "I'm going next year too!" her eyes lit up at the possibility of a new friend. "We should definitely hang out sometime."

"I'd like that. My Papa is out of town for the week." Blake blushed, her smile growing even bigger. A friend, one of the few things she's wanted for years. "So I've got nothing to do until he gets back."

Yang tapped her chin in thought before snapping her fingers as an idea hit her. She quickly went up to the counter and snatched up a spare notepad and pencil. She quickly wrote something on it before peeling the paper away and returned, holding out the paper to Blake. The cat-girl simply looked at it, trying to decipher why it was being presented to her.

"If you ever wanna hang out, just call us. We'll meet up and hang out." Yang explained, flapping the paper at Blake.

"O-ok." She said, lamely. "T-thank you."

"Don't sweat it." The big sister waved off, before noticing something out of the corner of her eye. "I think your order is ready, Blake." She chuckled, pointing to some irate workers holding Blake's food in a plastic bag.

"Ah!" Blake gasped and quickly ran over to pay and claim her order. On her way out, she stopped by the sisters. "Thanks again Yang, I'll call tomorrow if I've got nothing to do."

"I'll look forward to it." She waved goodbye as Blake left, Ruby giving a nervous little wave as well. "She's nice huh, Rubes?"

"I wanna touch her ears." Ruby whispered, laughing a little Yang's confused look. "She had cute kitty ears on her head."

"Really? I didn't see them."

* * *

As midday approached the next day, Blake found herself hesitant. In one hand she gingerly held the paper that Yang gave her yesterday, in the other she held the phone. On its display, the phone showed the exact same number as the paper. Despite her task being a simple button push, Blake felt no strength in her to do so. Her heart hammered away in her chest, drowning out all noise around her.

Swallowing her fears, she pressed the button.

Brreep-brreep.

Brreep-brreep.

Brree-click.

"Hello?" The voice was masculine, probably Yang's father. Blake's hand clutching the paper began to shake nervously.

"Umm… H-hi? Is Y-yang there?" Blake tried to speak clearly, as was the custom, but it came out almost too quiet to hear. Luckily, the man chuckled kind-heartedly.

"I'll go get her for you." She heard the receiver being put down, then came a distant yell. "Yang! You've got a call for you!" A few moments passed before it was picked up again.

"Hello?"

"H-hi, Yang, it's Blake… from the sushi place?"

"Oh hey, how's it going?"

"I just umm…" Blake quickly racked her brain for something cool to say, but came up empty. "Finished my chores."

"Good that's done then, huh?"

"Y-yeah."

"Why don't you come over? Ruby's been dying to see you again." Blake almost dropped the phone from how spontaneous this girl was.

"R-right now?"

"Sure."

"I-I don't know where you live though."

"Don't worry, we're just a couple blocks away from the sushi place." Blake could practically hear Yang's smile. "Just follow the street and take the third right. I'll be outside."

"O-ok, then."

"Great, see ya soon."

"Ok, see you soon."

* * *

In a few minutes, Blake had washed up and dashed out the front door, almost forgetting to lock it in her haste. She followed the directions that Yang had given her and sure enough said girl was waving at her from down the street.

"Over here, Blake!" Yang called, her voice carrying a surprisingly far distance.

The huntress-to-be jogged to where Yang was, mentally checking over her appearance. She tied up her hair into a pony-tail and wore a dark shirt with khaki slacks. Yang had her hair in low pigtails and was wearing rather boyish tee-shirt and shorts.

"Hi." Blake greeted with a small wave. She was rather surprised when Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulders and began guiding her inside.

"Welcome to Casa-de Yang!" The blonde girl announced with a wide grin. Said house was very similar to the one Blake and Praetor lived in, though it looked a lot more lived in and welcoming, even the door mat said it. As they crossed the threshold, Blake's stomach began to rumble at the smell of baked treats coming from the kitchen. "Ruby!" Yang called upstairs. "Blake's here!"

In a flourish of rose-petals Ruby appeared before the two of them, her hand in a mock salute and a bright smile upon her face. "Hi there and welcome to Palace Ruby!" she spread her arms out as if she was showcasing the house. Blake couldn't help but gawk at the complete change the girl made from yesterday. Then again it was her home and she was around family, of course she would be more confidant.

"Ruby… that was lame." Yang stared. "Really lame."

Ruby couldn't help but pout cutely at Yang. "It wasn't lame!" Yang chuckled and ruffled Ruby's hair.

"You know I'm just teasing, Ruby."

Blake felt something in the back her heart, something heavy and mildly painful. Her mind wandered to Praetor, he rubbed her head like that when she was upset. If she was really upset he'd give her a warm hug. Blake felt a chill wash over her and caused her to hold herself. But something felt missing.

"Something the matter?" Ruby asked, leaning around Yang to look at Blake.

"It's nothing." Blake sniffed. "I just miss Papa."

"Is he… gone?"

Blake shook her head. "No, he's just out of town. It's just seeing you and Yang like that reminded me of him."

"So he's a good dad? Like how Yang is a good big sis'?"

"Yeah, he's a good." Blake mumbled, then mentally added, "But he's not really my father."

"Girls, cookies are ready." At these words, Ruby vanished in a swirl of red petals. Out of a nearby archway, a blonde man poked his head out. He blinked upon seeing Blake however. "Oh, I didn't hear you come in. You must be Yang's new friend, Blake."

Blake quickly bowed stiffly. "Y-yes, that's me."

"I'm Taiyang, Yang's father." He introduced himself. "You know, Yang wouldn't stop talking about you last night." The man flashed a grin towards his blonde daughter, who had turned a deep crimson. "She was so excited to meet someone going to Signal as well."

"Dad!" Yang yelled, embarrassed. She shot a quick glance at Blake to gauge her opinion. Instead of a mocking look she expected, Yang simply saw a happy smile.

"Yeah, I'm glad to meet someone else too." Blake admitted. "I only just moved here a week ago."

"That's great. Always fun to meet someone new." Taiyang laughed. "Well, as long as you and Yang are friends, you're always welcome here. But for now, how about you have some cookies before Ruby eats them all?"

* * *

Praetor clenched his fist as the voice over the phone told him the bad news. Bullheads had spotted another major Grimm presence nearby, mostly comprised of Creeps, Beowolves, Ursi and possible a King Taijitsu, nothing he couldn't handle but it still meant that he would have to stay here a few days longer.

His ammo was almost low, so he would have to save it for the heavy hitters, his fists would have to be enough for the smaller ones. With a sigh, he hung up the phone and called home. Each time it rang, Praetor contemplated what he would say to Blake. The poor girl would be heart-broken when she heard. Though instead of her picking up, it went to the answering machine.

"Hi there, you've reached the Belladonna household, please leave a message." Praetor shook his head as his voice recited that, he would have used his own surname, but it had been so damn long he couldn't even remember it.

"Blake, it's Praetor. It seems that I'm going to be stuck here for a few more days." A sigh escaped him. "So, keep up your training and eat healthy, I'll be home before you know it." He softly hung up and pulled his helmet on.

After a simple stretch, Praetor was up and running towards the wall. He kicked off his right foot and the Titan cleared the wall in a single leap, rolling on the ground and took off towards the Grimm, intent on finishing his mission as fast as possible.

The first Grimm he encountered met a swift end as Praetor's fist met its jaw with enough force to lift it up into the air before it was engulfed in flames. An Ursa swiped at him from his left and he twisted to avoid it. Using the momentum from his dodge, Praetor backhanded the beast onto the ground and stomped on its throat.

Looking up, he saw the numerous eyes of the Creatures of Grimm surrounding him. Many people in his position would have shrunk away in fear, but Praetor simply laughed as fire burst into being all around him as the Hammer of Sol materialised in his hand.

The following fight could only be described as a one-sided battle as the Hammer flew across the field, exploding into fiery blasts that evaporated lesser Grimm. While the beasts occasionally hit Praetor, the ones that did were quickly erased from existence with a swing from the Hammer. To his benefit, most of the Grimm assembled were merely younglings with very little experience. Although not deadly to him, they would be devastating if they reached the mining town.

An Ursa roared and forced Praetor to block with his forearms, the hit made him lose focus and the Hammer dissipated. Standing over him was an Ursa Major, one that easily had a few decades of experience beneath its numerous spikes and bone plating. It easily towered head and shoulders above the other Ursa and therefore the majority of the beasts. Praetor wondered just how he missed it.

Before he had time to really question it, the large Grimm was upon him, swinging its massive paws at him in long sweeping arcs. Curiously it seemed to be pushing him towards a sheer cliff wall.

"Clever." Praetor grunted as he jumped over another swipe. "But it won't help you today." Just as another paw passed over his head, Praetor grabbed the arm at the forearm and elbow and slammed his knee into it. The Ursa roared in pain and tried to slam its other arm into the human that harmed it. Praetor simply stepped inside its guard and jumped onto its exposed shoulders, clapping his hands onto its bone mask, his thumbs plunging into the red-yellow eyes.

"Graaah!" With a mighty yell, he wrenched the beast's head away from its body.

The large body fell limp and collapsed, smoke already pouring from the skin. Its head quickly crumbled into ash in Praetor's hands. "One down." He breathed. A loud hiss was heard from behind him. "Many more to go." Praetor cracked his knuckles as the black and white heads of the King Taijitsu danced amongst each other while several dozen glowing red eyes followed him from the shadows.

* * *

It was late when Blake returned home. She had the time of her life hanging around with Yang and Ruby, most of the time they simply played games on the TV, but from time to time their dog, Zwei came in making Blake leap away in instinctual fear and onto the bed as she warily watched it. Both Ruby and Yang were very confused at her actions, but she was unable to explain it, she just didn't like dogs.

Upon entering her home, Blake closed the door and leaned against it with a satisfied smile. She was so happy that she completely ignored the blinking light on the phone as she passed it to prepare dinner. It wasn't until she was about to go to bed that she actually noticed it. The blinking button beeped when Blake pushed it.

"Blake, it's Praetor. It seems that I'm going to be stuck here for a few more days." She heard a small sigh. "So, keep up your training and eat healthy, I'll be home before you know it."

Her happy mood slowly morphed into an unhappy one as the message played. When it was finally finished, Blake was downcast at the news and was no longer feeling like the day was a happy occasion. The feeling shocked her, more so than the news itself. To combat this, she gave herself a light slap and shook it from her mind, trying to focus on the positives.

She had been fine without Praetor before, why should a couple of days more worry her? He would come back, right as rain with a bag full of Lien. Then he'd see her progress with her semblance and rub her head in pride.

Those thoughts kept with her as she drifted off to sleep, where her dreams quickly soured from her optimistic outlook to a dreary outcome where he was disappointed in her for not accomplishing more.

A lone tear slipped from her closed eye.

* * *

The following day Blake set out to Yang and Ruby's house, thinking about what Praetor said in his message. While it was doubtful that he expected her to actually make significant strides, the least she could do would be to show some improvement. In her mind, asking Yang to be her sparring partner benefited them both in several ways. For one, they could be above the average when they school rolls around.

For that reason Blake had Praetor's utility knife strapped to her belt today.

Before she realised it, Blake had arrived and was already knocking on the door. The door opened up to reveal Yang, her face pulled into that ever present grin of hers. "Hey Kitty." She greeted. "What's up?"

Blake bristled at Yang's nickname for her but suppressed it as best she could. She tried to open her mouth to say what she wanted. Yet no sound came out. It was so much easier in her head without anyone watching her, hell even a little noise would be enough.

"…Fight me."

"What?" Yang was expectedly surprised. Blake felt her voice grow stronger because of it however.

"I want to fight you."

"Yeah, I got that." Yang scratched her head in confusion. "But why though?"

"Do you want a reason?" Blake felt that same feeling she had yesterday creep up in her heart. It was familiar, yet very unpleasant. Was it jealousy? Was Blake jealous of Yang for having a loving family?

"Well, yeah, kind of." The blonde scanned Blake's face for something, any reason why she would fight her so suddenly. "I mean, friends don't just come up and suddenly ask to fight do they?"

Blake felt herself deflate a little, perhaps this jealousy of hers was clouding her mind. "…I just want Papa to be proud of me." She bowed her head, ashamed of herself.

"And how would fighting me help with that?" Yang's head was starting to hurt from trying to understand this girl.

"He said to t-train with my semblance, b-but I-I can't do it alone." Blake bit her lip in an effort to stop tears from welling in her eyes. "I-I thought that if I… fought with you that I could, y'know, get the hang of it faster." She jumped when an arm wrapped around her shoulder and brought her inside.

Yang guided her into the house and onto the lounge where she laid both her hands on Blake's shoulders. "That's not all, is it?" Yang prodded softly. Blake kept her head bowed and shook her head.

"Whenever I think of you, Ruby and your dad. How all of you act around each other. It makes me angry and sad and, I don't know." The dark-haired girl admitted, refusing to look at Yang, even as one of the blonde's hand took hers and kept it still. Blake didn't even realise it was shaking till it stopped.

"I get it, your dad's away and when he's home he doesn't act like my dad does towards me and Ruby." Yang tightened her grip. Blake wondered if this was how a mother was supposed to act. "Tell you what? We can go tell my dad, that way when your dad gets back, my dad can beat some sense into him." She chuckled a little darkly.

"No!" Blake almost shouted, looking up in shock. "Papa's not mean to me, he's just not… warm like your dad is." She tried to explain it. "I mean, he's great but he doesn't say things like 'I love you' or bake treats or anything like that."

'Besides, if your dad tried anything dangerous, Papa would kill him.' Blake added in her head.

"Hmm…" Yang rested her chin in her hands, looking like she was in deep thought. "It wouldn't hurt if they just talked to each other, right?" she suggested, her grin appearing once again.

"I-I don't know, maybe?"

"That's a yes in my book. I'll go get my dad." Yang was about to stand up when someone spoke up.

"No need sweetie." Taiyang leaned against the doorway to the kitchen. "I heard it all."

"…And?" Yang egged him on.

"I'll have a chat with him when he gets comes back."

"Thanks, dad."

Blake couldn't believe her ears, these people were trying to help her. Despite only knowing her for a day? Something warm and wet fell onto her lap. She lifted up a hand to her cheek and wiped off something.

Was she… crying?

She didn't feel sad. Her lips felt like they were curling at the edges.

Was she… Happy?

* * *

Two days later, Praetor was in a Bullhead flying towards Patch. His weapons were stowed over his shoulders and helmet in his hands, the golden visor reflecting his tired eyes and greying hairs. Inevitably, his thoughts turned to Blake and her well-being. He knew he may have put a bit too much pressure on her to succeed, but he just wanted her to be prepared.

Regardless, he hoped that she was well.

He heard a thud as the Bullhead landed. With a grunt he pushed himself up, using a railing above as a hand hold. Praetor walked towards the door as it began to slide open and climbed out. Waiting for him on the tarmac was a familiar face.

Qrow stood there with his flask in hand. Beside him was a blonde man with his arms crossed and a very serious look on his face.

"Praetor?" The blonde man asked. "We need to talk."

* * *

Hey there people. Seems like I'm finished another chapter. I'm just a big bag of lies aren't I?

Now seeing as I've never been a girl nor had many friends, please forgive me if you found the meeting between Yang and Blake a bit forced. My understanding of natural conversations are very limited, especially since I don't have much experience.

Not a lot of action, but a little bit of drama and a cliff hanger. Well, have a some nice holidays and please comment/review it really helps me out with my day.

~Dys


	6. Chapter 5: Ironing out the Details

A Step too Far

Chapter 5

An old Titan decides to climb off the walls and take a step away from the Traveler. He never intended to walk so far. He never regretted taking that step.

* * *

The two hunters and Titan stood in the middle of a seaside forest clearing, Qrow behind the blonde, who earlier introduced himself as Taiyang Xiao Long, Qrow's Hunt partner from when they were training.

"What did you want to talk about, Taiyang?" Praetor was a little annoyed at having to deal with this right after a rather taxing mission.

"I just wanted to get a better picture of the person who I've heard so much about." The blonde man replied, slipping his fingers into what looked like a set of skeletal gauntlets that clipped onto his forearm and extended past the elbow. That set the Titan on edge, clenching his fist in preparation. "I've never been good at judging someone's character, at least not from talking." He held up his fist with a grin. "Y'know?"

Without any provocation, Taiyang blurred forth with his fist cocked back for a haymaker. Praetor was still tired from his mission, he hadn't slept in two days and really wasn't in the mood for this. The Titan had a hundred years of fighting under his belt however and quickly stepped around it, kicking at the Hunter's shin whilst doing so.

However, Taiyang was also experienced, not to Praetor's extent but experienced enough to know how to react to a swift counter-attack in this situation. The knuckles on his gauntlet opened up and detonated the dust within. The force quickly pushed his arm backwards, sending his elbow into the Titan's exposed back. Praetor quickly recovered from the surprise attack, lashing out with a wild backhand.

Taiyang quickly brought his arms up in a guard. Despite his sure footing and solid stance, his legs almost buckled from the sheer force of Praetor's attack. Every bone in his body rattled from the initial impact. His hasty guard was almost breached again when Praetor withdrew his arm and slammed the other one into the gauntlets.

The Titan's assault didn't relent, following up with punch after punch, each one seeming to gather more and more power. Through the gaps in his guard, Taiyang saw glimpses of electricity forming over Praetor's own fists. With each punch it transferred to the other fist, adding to its potency. While Taiyang was confident in his weapon's design, he also knew its limits. As such he knew that any more punishment might end up breaking them.

During a bare second when the Titan's punches weren't impacting his gauntlets, Taiyang took the chance to throw his body to the side in an effort to create distance with Praetor. He didn't expect the Titan to grab his shin mid-leap.

The Guardian heaved, swinging Taiyang over his shoulder and slamming him into the dirt with such force that the ground cracked. Luckily, Taiyang's aura softened the blow, allowing him to deliver a kick to Praetor's chin with his free leg. The kick jerked the Titan's attention away for a brief moment, long enough for the Hunter to shake out of the iron grip and roll away onto his feet.

"Holy shit, old man." Taiyang panted. He had to stall for time, long enough for his aura to fix what damage was done. He was sure that at least one of his ribs was broken, not to mention the numerous new bruises. "Honestly didn't expect that kind of strength from a guy pushing sixty."

"Well, you know what they say." Praetor growled, testing his jaw. The Titan settled into a classic stance, one arm in front to block and the other ready to strike. "Respect your elders, Blondie."

With a quick underhand throw, Praetor tossed a small, pulsing ball towards Taiyang. It bounced once and rose to the blonde's eye level where it began to glow brighter. The Hunter's eyes widened, bringing his arms back up into a guard. Milliseconds later a bright flash assaulted his closed eyes and electrical energy washed over him, causing several of his muscles to spasm a little.

His ears rang. Without his hearing, Taiyang was forced to open only to find that Praetor had vanished. His eyes darted left and right, not finding any sign of the Titan. It was almost an afterthought, but he did see a shadow move before casting his eyes up towards the sky. The titan had his hands clasped behind his head, his entire form coursing with a brilliant blue hue.

It didn't take much convincing from Taiyang to force his body to leap away. The jump carrying him past several trees, one of which he ducked behind. Not a second later, blue lightning swept past, engulfing everything and scarring the tree. Taiyang took this chance to go on the offensive.

Channelling his aura through his legs, Taiyang rushed to the epicentre where Praetor kneeled with one fist planted firmly into the ground. A second pulse of energy caught him by surprise, making him lose his footing. The stumble caused his planned straight punch turned into a sloppy shoulder barge.

He collided with the Titan, knocking them both to the ground. While Taiyang was sent sprawling, Praetor was only pushed a few feet. Taiyang was the first to recover, managing to manoeuvre himself mid-air so that he landed feet first and dashed back towards Praetor, his fist raised once more to strike.

It was Praetor's turn to be on the defensive. Taiyang's fist impacted against his jaw, the force making his head turn. The blonde didn't let up, following up with an explosive punch to Praetor's midriff. The blows kept coming from Taiyang in a series of staggering one-two punches to various gaps in Praetor's armour. Any attempt to counter attack was dodged as the blonde simply ducked and weaved around the Titan, striking from various angles.

Praetor's barrier was beginning to wane, he was beginning to feel the blows much more. It wasn't too long before his gifted healing ability was completely overwhelmed. Blood and spittle sprayed from his mouth as Taiyang threw an uppercut to his jaw, the punch was powerful enough to lift Praetor into the air a little.

In that brief moment, the Hunter executed a sweeping kick against Praetor's legs making him lose his footing and fall backwards. Taiyang didn't stop there, jumping into the air and detonating one of his gauntlets in rapid succession, making him spin madly. The combination of gravity and centrifugal force culminated in the other gauntlet planting itself firmly onto Praetor's cheek, cracking the ground beneath them. The blonde wasn't finished yet, as he detonated the planted gauntlet point-blank and using the force of the explosion and his own legs to leap away from the grounded Titan.

That last attack had taken a toll on him, Taiyang was panting like a thirsty dog from the force he exerted to simply keep the Titan staggered. He allowed himself to lean against his knees, his breaths coming fast and short.

Back amongst the cracked ground and burnt grass, Praetor stirred. That last punch hadn't done him any favours, he was glad Taiyang needed a breather after that. From his position on his back, it took an effort to roll himself over and onto a kneeling position. He spat a sizeable glob of blood out of his mouth, a small testament to how far Taiyang had pushed. Feeling a stinging sensation from his cheek, he brought a hand up to examine it. Through his glove, he felt burnt flesh and leaking blood.

Bringing the hand back, Praetor examined the seemingly foreign substance. It had been so long since he had seen his own blood. So long he had gone without being injured in a fight, it was but a faded memory from his youth as a Guardian. It was refreshing to feel some mortality once again. The feeling brought a smile to his lips.

"I have to thank you." He spoke, turning slightly to show a single eye towards Taiyang. The fight had clearly drained the man of any energy he held. Sweat was dripping from his brow and he was panting heavily. Praetor rose to his feet, still looking at the Hunter out of the corner of his eye. Taiyang could swear that there was something sparking in Praetor's eye. "It has been too long since I felt… Alive."

The Titan turned to reveal his new scar, a wicked-looking burn that stretched across his left cheek and passed onto his jaw. Despite the pain he was in, he held an undeniably manic smile that sent chills down Taiyang's spine. But it was the dangerous spark in his eyes that made the Hunter take a step back.

"Uh, Qrow!?" Taiyang called, worry drenching his voice. "Tag in!?"

The spark in Praetor's eyes intensified as the lightning struck.

* * *

Blake jumped at the thunderclap, catching a lightning bolt out of the corner of her eye. It stretched far into the sky and set the clouds alight. It wasn't supposed to storm today, and nor would it if the blue sky and gentle breeze were to be believed. She recognised the sheer power that one bolt had demonstrated. Nothing less than Nature itself, not even Lightning Dust, could show that much force.

Now while Blake read a lot of fiction, she knew that was all it was. Fiction. Made up stories. Yet the sight of lightning strikes out of nowhere drew up innumerable amounts of stories in her mind that featured lightning wielding heroes and villains. When her mind finally calmed down, another set of images came to mind, records of real heroes, lists of tournament winners and videos of re-enacted battles. Not one of these people showed anything near the raw power of that lightning bolt, except for one person she closely knew.

Praetor was back.

* * *

Arc energy rolled off of Praetor like plasma, scorching and carving trenches into the ground. Each step he took rumbled the very ground and sent more energy dancing along his limbs. In the centre of it, Praetor was chuckling like a pleased grandparent would, but the look in his eyes said that he was, if nothing, laser focused.

Usually, physics would dictate that electrical energy take the fastest and most direct route to the ground and dissipate. For whatever reason, those laws held no power over the old Titan. If anything, the energy openly defied it and arced from the ground up, leaving scars on the ground wherever it pleased.

Before he could make any distance towards his target, Praetor found his path was blocked by a familiar blade. Qrow stood before him, pointing the blade towards him.

"At least the blade is the right way up this time." The Titan chuckled. He blurred forth, brushing the blade aside and sending a fist towards the raven Hunter. Qrow leaned his head away from the punch and flowed around the Titan, bringing his blade upwards in a slash to Praetors side. Once again, the blade was knocked aside, making the swing go wide and sent a swift jab towards Qrow's jugular.

The Hunter was fast enough to recover and bring the blade up to guard. The electricity from the punch dissipated against the hand-guard, leaving Qrow unharmed. Undeterred, Qrow leapt back and began unloading the shells that were loaded into his weapon. The pellets tore the ground apart around Praetor. The moment that one grazed against his barrier, he vanished in a bolt of lightning and reappeared several metres away. Moments later his new position was filled with lead from Qrow's gun.

Praetor advanced in this manner, with Qrow constantly firing to keep him at bay. One flash appeared close, with the Titan quickly closing the remaining distance. Qrow lashed out with a wild slash, only for Praetor to vanish and appear above him with his hands ready for an over-head smash. The attack met the tough metal of Qrow's blade with a resounding clang that rustled the bushes and rattled the ears of anyone close enough to hear.

Qrow gave a mighty push, shoving the larger man away to the far side of the clearing. Taking advantage of this lapse, the Hunter flicked a switch on his weapon making the gears in the cross-guard jerk into motion. Along the blade, the segments began to separate and curve as Qrow extended the hilt of his beloved weapon and exchanged the magazine. In a matter of seconds he was holding his famed and feared Scythe.

Not giving the Titan another chance, Qrow blurred into action, firing his gun backwards and crossing the distance in a blink of an eye. The next few moments were too fast for either party to even think, instead focusing on blocking and retaliating to each other's blows as they came. Even Taiyang, who had retreated to a safe distance, was unable to track either of the fighters as they clashed.

Scythe bit into metal plating and gauntlets impacted Aura and skin. Both fighters broke apart for a single breath before charging in once again, neither one gaining any ground over the other. Once more they clashed, with Qrow's Scythe held back by Praetor's hold on its blade. The stalemate was quickly broken by Qrow firing the weapon's shotgun, the recoil adding enough power to break the Titan's grip. Praetor's quick reflexes and lightning enhanced nerves saved him from being beheaded as he leaned back far enough so that the blade passed over him, close enough to shave a couple of hairs from his chin.

Using the momentum from his dodge, Praetor back flipped and landed with Guardsman out and aimed at Qrow. A blue glow emanated from the barrel of the gun as the Titan channelled Arc energy through it. The slug was fired out at hyper-sonic speeds, igniting and parting the air around it.

It was Qrow's turn for an uncanny dodge. He fired his Scythe-gun at a random direction and he disappeared in a black gun flash and reappeared further away sliding to a stop. The slug from Praetor impacted the ground with the same effect as an artillery shell, an earth quaking shock wave and gratuitous amounts of displaced soil.

Moments later, the electrical aura around Praetor dissipated, leaving him breathing heavily and even more tired than he could remember. Feeling almost as if a simple tap could tip him over, his eyes began drifting close. A plated fist flew through the air, striking the Titan's cheek and making him collapse to hands and knees.

"…Y'know, a few days ago." Taiyang began, crouching beside the tired man, all signs of hostility completely gone. "My daughters met a new friend, named Blake." The Titan's eyes widened, finally realising what this was about. "They quickly became good friends, until one day. Blake shows up on our doorstep unannounced and demands a fight with my eldest, Yang. Thankfully, my little girl figured that something was wrong. After a talk and a few tears, Blake said she wanted to be able to impress her guardian before he got back from his mission."

"She's afraid of disappointing you." Taiyang explained, watching Praetor's jaw clench. "So much so that she almost sacrificed her new friendship for your approval."

"Do not toy with me!" The Titan roared, staggering to his feet as lighting sparks from his hands. "She'd never do anything like that! I'm not that important to her." He let his head drop along with the volume of his voice.

"Is that what you really think?" Taiyang asked, his voice painfully flat. "Whether you realise it or not, you've had an impact on her life." He leaned in a bit closer. "And quite a significant one too, if what I've seen is true."

"And regardless of what you think, she thinks of you as a father figure." Taiyang summarised. "I'll leave it up to you whether to take this information and act on it, or simply ignore me and cause that girl more pain." The blonde man took his leave, allowing Qrow to finally talk.

"They're paying attention you know." He took a relaxing swig from his flask, his scythe now stowed away on his back. "I don't mean Taiyang. People with more influence and power than either of us. So consider this a warning from them, if you want." He took another swig. "They've got their eyes on you, and they're waiting…" Praetor gave the drunkard a questioning look. "Waiting for you to make a mistake. Anything that would incriminate you enough to put you down." Another swig. "So as your acquaintance, I suggest you step lightly from here on out. See you around, Prey."

As Qrow walked away, Praetor's mind wandered back to Blake. Just how was he going to talk to her about this?

* * *

Blake paced nervously around the house her mind racing, testing out different scenarios for when Praetor returned. She imagined him tired. She imagined him beaten and broken. And even more terrifying, she imagined him covered in blood that wasn't his. In each one she ended up with her heart-broken and alone.

That scared her more than anything.

Her thoughts were interrupted and her body froze when she heard the front door open from behind her. The ever familiar thumping of boots entered her ears, growing closer to her until they stopped right behind her and a shadow loomed over her.

"Blake?" he whispered, his deep voice almost demanding her attention and obedience. Slowly, she turned around to face her guardian, worried about what she would see. As she did, the towering figure knelt down to her level, looking into her yellow eyes. Blake couldn't help but turn her head slightly, avoiding his gaze and focusing on a particular floor board. She let out a small gasp when she was drawn into a sudden embrace, his arms warm and gentle as she was pulled closer.

No words needed to be exchanged, she could feel his heart-beat, his slightly hitched breathing and every time he swallowed back tears. The emotions flooded her. Regret, empathy, sadness and remorse. Each one washed over her with more feeling than the last. 'I'm sorry.' Was the thought that entered her mind, speaking in his voice.

A genuine smile formed on her lips. With one last deep breath, she relaxed in his grip and let her arms wrap around him to return the embrace.

* * *

The next day, Blake woke with a teary yawn and a stretch to remove any kinks in her muscles. Sunlight poured into her room, illuminating the rather dull room. The wall next to her bed was home to a well-stocked bookshelf, full of fantasy and more than a few teen-drama romance novels. Her bedside table housed a candelabra so she could read by candlelight, something that she found incredibly relaxing, despite being a fire hazard. Opposite her bed was her dresser, it was made locally from the ash trees, giving it a greyish colour. On top of it was her Scroll, a clunky tablet that she used to browse the web. It used to belong to Ruby and Yang, but they had since upgraded and gave her their old one.

The sound of something sizzling made her ears perk up a little. Stepping out into the hallway, Blake was assaulted by the smell of cooking bacon and eggs that made her stomach growl. She followed her nose and ears to the kitchen where Praetor was standing over the stove, spatula in hand.

Blake pulled a chair out and sat down, bringing a hand up to wipe away her sleepiness from her eyes. "Morning." She mumbled.

"Good morning." Praetor grunted in response. He reached into a cabinet, withdrew two plates and began shovelling strips of bacon and eggs onto them. After turning off the stove, he deposited a plate in front of her and sat down. Blake idly noted that her plate had more eggs than bacon, she didn't let it bother her as she began to stab them with her fork.

The Titan was eating at a decent pace while he was reading the local newspaper's headline. She almost gasped at seeing the large gauze patch covering the left side of his face. Blake tried to not let it bother her, but seeing the result of a fight always clutched her heart, even more so against Praetor who seemed so… invincible to her.

The silence was starting to become crushing. Knowing that it was up to her to start a conversation, Blake decided to go with something that was now bothering her.

"Does it hurt?" She asked quietly, looking at the patch on his face.

"…No." He answered simply. "I barely even noticed at the time. I only really noticed the damage when I got back. Don't worry, before long I'll be right as rain."

"Speaking of rain…" she started. "That lightning yesterday. That was you, wasn't it?" She asked, eating at a more sedate pace now.

Praetor chuckled bashfully. "You saw that huh?"

"I'm pretty sure the entire town saw it, heard it and felt it." She smiled awkwardly. "It's not something that goes amiss on a clear spring afternoon."

"Yeah, I let myself get a little out of hand there."

"Why were you fighting?"

"Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about something, Blake." Praetor placed his fork down and put his, now empty, plate to the side. The girl felt herself freeze, like she had been caught red-handed.

"O-oh, what about?" She tried to play it cool, perhaps it was something more trivial and not about when she challenged her new friend to a not-so-friendly spar.

"I was fighting a man named Taiyang Xiao Long and his friend Qrow." He said slowly, making sure she listened. "Do either of those names sound familiar?"

Blake completely deflated, her shoulders slumped and her gaze fell onto her half-eaten breakfast. It was fascinating to watch how bacon grease spread through eggs.

"Blake."

Her head snapped back up at her name being called, instead of seeing a furious guardian she expected, Blake saw a kind smile and an understanding look.

"I'm not mad." He reached across the table and grasped her hand. "I know I can be a bit… cold. But just know that I will never be mad at you, no matter what you do." He took a long breath in through his nose. "Taiyang told me that you were feeling pressured to improve and were frustrated with your lack of progress. Is that right?"

Blake bit her lip and nodded, her eyes hidden by her dark hair.

"Are you feeling this way, because of me?"

A hesitant nod.

"I see." He took another breath to collect his thoughts. "I didn't want to put too much pressure on you, Blake. It was the first time in a while that I was gone for more than a week. I didn't expect you to actually follow my instructions." He chuckled lightly. "Taiyang also told me that you made some new friends, his daughters in fact."

Blake gave a short nod and a confirming noise.

"Why don't you tell me about them?"

"…umm, they're fun. I guess. Yang's a little loud sometimes." She smiled, remembering the blonde girl yelling indignantly at her father. "Ruby is younger than me and has a really big sweet-tooth, every time I see her she has something sugary with her." Blake gave a little laugh, recalling when Ruby tried to eat a giant lollypop by herself.

"They sound like good people, Blake." Praetor gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "You'll have to introduce me to them one day."

"Yeah." She agreed. "They're good people."

"That's great, Blake. I'm glad that you've found some friends." For the first time since she met him, Praetor had the brightest smile she had seen.

* * *

The weeks seemed to fly past as each day seemed to be better than the last to Blake. Something of note happened each day, whether it was a visit to Ruby and Yang's, reading a new book or even Praetor taking her out on a shopping trip. Just recently, the Titan showed her how to take apart and re-assemble a basic handgun and how important it was to properly care for her weapons. He decided to teach her that after seeing her knife becoming dull from over use.

In one of the many visits to Ruby and Yang, the younger girl displayed her enthusiasm for weapons after a practice session by snatching up Blake's prized knife and looking over every inch of it.

"This is a really good blade." The young girl commented, her silver eyes extremely focused on her current task of examining Blake's blade. "It looks like it was mass-produced, but at the same time I can't recall any kind of knives quite like it." The dark-haired girl was definitely sceptical about Ruby's assessment, but she kept that to herself.

The blade in question was just shy of a foot long and was styled reminiscently of a Tanto. The flat of the blade was coated in a dark grey matte while the edge was honed to a dull sheen. The only mark on the flat was an emblem that also appeared on Praetor's shotgun, Guardsman. A lone tower below a large spherical object.

"Hey, Blake, what's this symbol?" Ruby asked, interrupting the cat-girl from her reading, much to her annoyance.

"Hmm?" She walked over to Ruby and looked at what she was pointing to. "Oh, that. I think that's Papa's symbol." She tried to explain, only to get a blank look from the younger girl. "Well, every Hunter has their mark, right? That's just Papa's. It's even on his shotgun."

Sadly instead of curbing the redhead's curiosity, Blake had only piqued it further when she mentioned another weapon. "Your Dad uses a shotgun!?" she shrieked in joy. "Does it turn into something cool like a sword or a staff or something!?"

Blake ended up keeling under Ruby's assault of questions and decided it was better if she invited them over to see for themselves. She tried to tell them as much as she could to prepare them, but it always fell short as she couldn't really answer Ruby's rapid fire questions. She was able to tell them that he wasn't like their father, he was more minimalistic and had been used to living on the move for a while.

They hadn't really expected him to be apparently meditating in the dining room with his weapons disassembled and spread over the table. The young redhead was all over it instantly, going 'Ooh' and 'Ahh' over all the little bits that went together to create a deadly creation.

When Yang came close enough, she had to suppress her shock at seeing such an ugly scar on the man's face. She could only imagine what could have caused such a thing, like a fire-breathing Grimm or something. Then again, she never heard of anything like that. It would be terrifying to face one, though for some reason she got a tingle in her spine from the thought.

Sadly, her thoughts were interrupted by Ruby, the moment she tried touching a piece the young girl found her hand held in an iron grip.

"Don't touch." Praetor gently warned, his eyes staring straight into Ruby's. "It took me a whole hour to lay it out like this."

"Oh." She said with a sheepish laugh. "Sorry. I just find weapons fascinating."

"Blake." He called out, his tone as indecipherable as always. The girl in question suddenly stiffened, like somebody just jolted her with electricity. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?" He asked with a friendly smile.

* * *

"It's a rifled breach-action shotgun with a bore of twenty-one point twenty-one millimetres. It fires conical, fin-stabilised, iron-cored slugs with a muzzle velocity of roughly eight-hundred metres a second." Praetor listed off. The old man was all too happy to answer young girl's questions about his weapons. Blake and Yang shared a sigh as Ruby had stars in her eyes.

"Wow." Was all Ruby was able to say, as her thoughts were imagining the sheer power from such a gun. Praetor chuckled at the girl's simple, but awed expression.

He spared a glance at Ruby's blonde sister, who was looking quite bored with the whole situation. Although she formed a warm smile every time she took a glance at her little sister. "Yang." He called her name, snapping her out of her gazing.

"Yeah, Mister P?" She replied with a cheeky grin.

"I can see that idle chatter is doing nothing for you in regards to enjoyment, so I figure we do something a little more fun." He stroked his short beard, a small smile beginning to show beneath it.

"Oh? What do you have in mind?"

* * *

Let it never be said that Yang never gave someone a chance. How many chances and what said chance would pertain to however was a completely different argument. Such was proven as she wiped the floor with Praetor's avatar in their game of _Atlas Corps: Closure_. She had to give it to the old man, while he initially had trouble with the controls, holding it very awkwardly in his large hands and being confused as to the button positions, he was quite tenacious.

His approach to navigating the maps was simple but always took him via a path that had the most cover and tactical advantage. In every room he came across he carefully swept across it before moving on. Sadly, the game was not one for simulating military tactics, instead it was for people who pretended at playing military. Other players ran through the map, using their knowledge of the map to earn points quickly.

Yang was part of that demographic.

Bang-rat-tat. "Come-on old man, you've got to do better than that if you want to beat me." Yang taunted, her massive grin threatening to split her face. Praetor could do nothing but grumble as his character was seemingly locked in an endless spawn-die-spawn cycle, courtesy of the blonde girl hunting him down before he could make it out the door.

"Yaaaaang." Ruby whined, shaking her sister's shoulder. "Play fair."

"I am playing fair, it's in the game isn't it?" her smile still present. "Not my fault that he can't move before he gets owned."

Praetor continued to grumble, his kindly mood from before having all but vanished. His grumbling stopped when Blake tapped his shoulder offered to play so he could calm down a bit. Praetor had to swallow his pride and relinquished the controller over to his charge. He was just too inexperienced with these 'video games'.

The tide of the game had turned when the controller swapped hands, Blake quickly familiarised herself with the controls and before Yang could even comprehend what had happened, she was being utterly destroyed.

In the span of a few minutes, Blake had won the game. Several of the other players started complaining over the sudden turn-around, calling for admins and calling her a cheater. Blake simply basked in the glory with a curious smirk.

"Damn Kitty, I never knew you were a gamer." Yang complimented, slapping her friend on the shoulder.

"I'm not, I guess I'm just a natural." Blake tried to deflect the accusation, but Yang was having none of it.

"I don't believe that." She pointed a finger at Blake. "I bet you play these games every night before you go to bed!"

"I do not!" The Faunus defended, her cheeks flushing from the accusation. "I've never even played this game before!"

"I'm not convinced! I challenge you to another game!"

Before either of them knew it, they had gotten so enthralled in their gaming session that they completely forgot the time as it was dark by the time they needed a break. Ruby quickly got worried that they might be scolded for making their dad worried and insisted that she and Yang head off as quickly as possible. Blake stood in the doorway, waving as her friends slowly disappeared from her sight when Praetor decided to comment.

"Those are some good friends you have, Blake."

* * *

Today was the day, Blake told herself.

She stood in front of a tall mirror, examining her appearance and making sure that everything was perfect. She didn't want to make too much of an impact, but nor did she want to simply fade into the background. She went down the list again.

Shoes? Simple and comfortable, yet stylish, runners. Check.

Pants? Well-worn, tight-fitting slacks with a couple of scuffs, showing their use. Check.

Shirt? A simple white blouse covered her torso that was made of a light fabric so as to not restrict her movements and also to show off her budding figure. Check

Hair and accessories? Atop her head was a little black ribbon, tied into a bow, which pulled her midnight-hair into a pony-tail.

Everything was ok… Maybe she should check the list once more.

"Blake!" Her Father called from downstairs. "If you don't hurry up you're going to be late!"

"Ok, I'm coming down right now." She replied, hastening to scoop up her knife and strap it to her belt. One final look at the mirror and she nodded to herself with confidence.

Today was a new beginning for Blake Belladonna.

* * *

Praetor scowled at the message on his Scroll. It detailed just how much it would cost to cover Blake's tuition and the cost of renting a house in Patch. On a separate page was the predicted yearly tax that he would have to pay. And finally in an envelope set before him was a bundle of Lien Cards, the pay from his latest mission.

It simply wasn't enough.

Each kingdom had different approaches to training Hunters. Atlas had its government and military endeavours tied into one another. Mistral gave applicants a mandatory four years training. What Vacuo did was entirely secret from everyone who wasn't involved, rumours speculated the existence of a secret brotherhood of sorts. Vale made sure to give their aspirants the best training possible, yet that came with a pretty steep cost. Alternatives to payment were available, but only if one was a native to Vale.

That simply left him with the option of upfront payment.

Therein lay the rub. He was by definition, poor. Each mission was barely making up for the costs of the week. Meaning he had to take several in succession, just to be able to take a break and be with Blake.

The missions he usually took on were for skilled and experienced Hunters. And while no one would deny his prowess, even he was looked down upon by multiple Veteran Hunters who viewed him with mistrust.

Due to his Honorary Hunter status, his Hunter's Rank would never climb any higher and wouldn't be cleared for higher paying jobs. He simply didn't know what he'd do if the debt were to climb any higher than it was already.

He needed a solution fast.

* * *

The Titanic man held the pouting, little woman up to his eye level by her wrists. Roman had decided to, metaphorically, throw her at the man single-handedly assaulting his hideout. Neo knew that Roman wouldn't ask for her assistance unless the situation called for it. Unfortunately for her, the Titan's skill outclassed hers. Now she felt utterly helpless, she couldn't even muster the energy to kick in defiance.

"Now, now young lady." The man chided, her precious umbrella in the hand that wasn't holding her. "I have no desire to fight any more than I have to. Now, if I let you down will you agree not to interfere with my meeting?"

Neo had little choice but to pout childishly and nod. Once she was let down she was surprised to find that the Titan was holding her umbrella out to her, offering to return it to her. The short woman hesitantly took it back before moving out of his way.

She heard the tell-tale sounds of a scuffle coming from the back along with a few grunts of pain from Roman. For a moment, Neo let her imagination run a little wild with a silent giggle. She couldn't make out any words that were being said, but she did hear Roman saying "How about I make a better deal?"

Soon after, the Titan came out, holding her special bowl. Neo was about to charge at him for touching something of hers when he gently placed it on a crate next to her.

"It was a good fight" He praised as he passed right by her and leaving the warehouse. Neo was left with a small blush on her cheeks, hardly anyone ever complimented her. Now she was left with a bowl of her favourite ice cream.

'He's a nice person.' She thought, scooping a bit of pink ice cream into her mouth. Moments after he left, Roman came out, nursing a bruised eye.

"Neo, it seems we've got a new associate."

* * *

AN: Edited version posted 4/July/16


	7. Chapter 6: A New Direction

A Step too Far

Chapter 6

An old Titan decides to climb off the walls and take a step away from the Traveler. He never intended to walk so far. He never regretted taking that step.

* * *

In the blink of an eye, years had passed. Seasons changed from summer to autumn to winter to spring and back to summer to begin once again. New buildings rose and old ones fell, people came and went. Through it all, Signal's light shone brightly, never dimming and visible from every corner of town.

Blake saw all this through her window. No longer the timid girl she once was. She was now a confident young woman who yearned to prove herself against the wild world. She frowned, perhaps that wasn't the best way to describe herself. In fact it sounded more like her friend Yang.

The blonde girl had definitely grown up, now she was even more outgoing than before, owing to her passion to seek thrills of all kinds. While her body earned dropped jaws and lustful gazes from just about every boy she crossed (and envious sneers from a few girls), she was adamant that she'd never once, nor ever would, use it to gain anything. After all, she preferred using her fists to resolve disputes.

Early in her teen years, Yang had developed a rather fierce sense of vanity towards her hair, taking every single precaution to care for it, to the point where she is triple washing it in the showers and meticulously drying it with several towels. Anything else she does to care for it is completely secret to Blake. But whatever the cost was, the result was spectacular. The blonde girl also made every attempt to help her younger sister, Ruby, with anything she asked, even if it was simply baking cookies.

Regarding young Ruby, she was admitted into Signal a couple of years ago. While the young girl didn't have many friends at first, preferring to stick around Yang and Blake, people quickly flocked to her after her first duel with another student. Ruby's skill and fascination with anything weaponised finally came into play when she was assigned to create her own weapon. From her time training under her Uncle Qrow, the innocent girl had gathered an impressive amount of skill with the same kind of weapon, a Scythe.

And so her pride and joy, Crescent Rose, was created. A high-impact, high-recoil Sniper-rifle and Scythe combination. With her semblance, her sheer speed, she can use Crescent Rose to deadly effect. Her specially designed Dust cartridges are capable of such power as to fling her at high-speeds alone, combined with her semblance and her skill with the weapon, she has garnered an almost unbeatable track record in the Academy Arena. She was however, consistently outshined by her big sister, Yang, in terms of combat.

* * *

" _Come on Sis'" Yang taunted with her arms wide open, daring her opponent to attack. Said opponent was her little sister Ruby. Their current fight had been going on for a few minutes and Ruby was beginning to tire._

 _It was the school's yearly internal tournament, a little competition the teachers thought up to determine the best prospects for future Hunters. The students were given a selection of 'practice weapons' to use in the stead of actual weapons. The current fight was the finale, a fight between the two daughters of Professor Xiao Long._

 _Ruby took the bait and charged, using her semblance to close the gap in a flash. She slowed down behind Yang with her practice Scythe wound back for a sweeping strike. The blonde ducked below the swing and swept out the red head's legs from under her. Ruby was unable to move out of the way from her big sister's counterattack of a solid uppercut to her solar plexus._

 _Yang's last attack had sent her sister's aura into the red, eliminating her from the match. While Ruby pouted at the unfairness of the match, Yang simply picked her up and swung her into a piggy back to carry her out of the arena._

* * *

Whilst Ruby had taken after their Uncle (after he foolishly allowed her to look at his weapon), Yang drew her fighting style straight from their father. She, like her father, was a straight up brawler, using her fists to do the most damage possible. Her weapon, a pair of gauntlets dubbed 'Ember Celica', launches explosive bolts of fire dust as a projectile attack. These bolts are also often used to improve her already impressive damage dealing when punching. This, alongside her training with her father's training have already made her an impressive combatant to face. But when the added factor of Yang's semblance is included, any fight is virtually impossible to win for her opposition.

Blake had noted on several occasions that Yang's semblance activated from rage at a particular target. Most of the time, Yang's hair was involved. The one other time, Ruby was involved. Blake had caught a young boy sneaking glances at Ruby. The moment that he tried to talk to the girl however, Yang's eyes changed colour and the boy was suddenly embedded in the nearest wall.

* * *

" _U-umm. Excuse me? R-Ruby?" Spoke a meek voice, one could feel the boy's attempt to gather every scrap of bravery._

 _THWACK! CRACK!_

" _ **Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose, report to the Headmaster's office."**_

* * *

Yes, the last few years were fun, Blake figured, her smile reflecting in the window. Her wardrobe had extended drastically, mostly due to Yang and Ruby. Her collection of books had completely filled the bookshelf. The walls of her room were now decorated with posters and photos of her and her friends. She couldn't help but sadly note the lack of her father, Praetor, in the pictures. He was always away on missions earning money so they could stay afloat.

The prices for tuition at a Combat School were steep, especially for them. They barely had enough to keep their heads afloat. Despite the costs, Praetor managed to spare no expense when it came to Blake. If she wanted to buy some new books, he would allow it. Some new clothes? He simply handed her his card and told her to get whatever she wanted.

She finally saw the effects when it came to her second year. Praetor was consistently tired, ate little and was never home for more than a day. At first she thought that he was tired of her and wanted nothing to do with her.

* * *

" _Please, don't go!" Blake wailed, hugging her father close and burying her eyes into his chest. "I'm sorry! I don't know what it was that made you hate me, but I'm sorry!" She heard him take a deep breath and felt his large hands stroking her hair gently, the action calming her down and slowing her sobbing._

" _Blake, I'm not leaving and I could never hate you." He whispered into her feline ears. "If anyone should apologise it should be me." He pulled her away from his chest and held her shoulders gently, locking his eyes to hers. "I'm sorry I've been gone so long, but I need to so I can keep you in school."_

" _But I thought that we had plenty of money?" Blake hiccupped, wiping her tears away. She hated crying, it made her feel helpless again._

" _Not as much as I'd like, I'm afraid." Praetor scratched his chin with a light-hearted chuckle. "Combat School in Vale tends to cost a fair bit. Add the rent, groceries and taxes. We're barely scraping by…"_

 _Images flashed in Blake's mind. Begging for scraps, hiding from the rain in an alley and sleeping in a box. She hugged herself. Now that she was grown-up, who knew what she would be forced to do in order to live._

" _That's why I'm taking more missions. It might be a while before I can earn enough so we can be stable. But I know you can bear with it and stay strong for me." He gently clasped her hand between his and gave her a smile which she couldn't help but reciprocate._

" _Okay. I'll be strong, Dad." Her smile dropped instantly and her entire face flushed a cherry red. She never meant to say it out loud, it just slipped out. Blake froze completely for a full second before she suddenly broke his grip and ran straight to her room, her hands desperately trying to hide her face._

" _Oh, so it's 'Dad' now?" he called after her. A warm feeling swelled in his heart. He did not lose his smile for another two days._

* * *

She smiled, ever since then she was encouraged to call him father, much to her embarrassment. Never the less it brought the two of them that extra bit closer. It was something that she had wanted ever since Praetor had promised to never leave her side, to be able to call him 'Father' without him rejecting it.

Blake still kept the knife he gifted to her from then, albeit in an altered state. During her tuition, she attended a class for creating weapons in her fourth year. The class encouraged creativity and ability in the creation of the weapons as opposed to practical and predictable weaponry. This created a predicament for Blake, as she had trained with her knife and handgun for several years.

* * *

 _Blake looked down at her two weapons sitting on the table. Praetor's knife and her standard handgun looked so mundane compared to her classmate's designs. She saw schematics for sniper-rifles that turned into pole-arms, an axe, rifle and grenade launcher combination and Yang's own bracer cannons._

" _What's the matter kitty?" her friend asked, her hair tied into a ponytail so it wouldn't get caught in a machine._

" _My weapons…" Blake responded blankly. "I don't know what to do about them."_

" _Why not keep them and make a new one?" Yang offered._

" _That… feels wrong. Like I'm abandoning a part of myself." The feline girl lightly shook her head._

" _Then how about turning them into a new weapon?"_

 _It felt like a lightbulb went off in Blake's head. It was something she hadn't even considered. It was the best of both worlds. She kept the sentimental value and would still create a new weapon. "…Yang?"_

" _Yeah, kitty?"_

" _Thank you."_

" _You're welcome."_

* * *

Blake turned her attention to the blade at the foot of her bed. Despite its alterations, it still felt like the same knife that Praetor gave to her. She had the blade lengthened, created a new scabbard that could serve as a separate blade and her pistol was now incorporated into the hand-guard of the blade.

In retrospect, her fights with the weapon could have been handled a little better. In her training with Praetor, he encouraged her to use every opportunity and advantage she had. If that meant throwing dirt into their faces, then so be it. Making her enemy see red with rage was a popular one, as long as they didn't hit her. Attacking their legs and tripping them worked even better, an enemy who couldn't fight tended to be easy pickings.

The design felt oddly familiar to her. Perhaps it was simply a case of seeing another with a similar weapon. Though it felt like it fit her perfectly, in both her mindset and her hands. It was incredibly practical, compared some of the other student's weapons. The blade would hold its edge against severe use, the gun was small and powerful enough to stagger her opponents and the scabbard allowed her to slash without drawing the main blade and gave her a secondary blade to wield offhand.

Was it destiny that she was to have the blade she designed, or just coincidence? Did it feel like this for anyone else, or did they just see their weapon as a tool?

Blake shook the thoughts from her head. It wouldn't help anything if she began to question herself now. After all, it was only a few more months until she and her friends went to Vale to attend Beacon. She reached for a book on her nightstand and flipped to the page with a mark in it.

At least Praetor wouldn't have to pay for rent for the house anymore…

* * *

The next day, Praetor was on an airbus heading into Vale. Blake had bid him good luck that morning and actually tried her hand at cooking breakfast. The gesture was nice, but the result was… less than appetising. He still ate it with gusto, he couldn't find it in himself to ruin her hard work. Especially when she was wearing her cat apron and smiling proudly at him.

Though it baffled him how she managed to screw up shake mix pancakes, she somehow kept the inside uncooked while burning the outside. Her cooking habits was quite the phenomenon to him. Anything that involved fish or chicken she could make perfectly, but nearly any other dish had the potential to end up burnt, frozen or some a combination of both.

The titan sighed forlornly as he watched clouds pass by his window. He wondered what became of his comrades back on Earth. Was there even an Earth left? He had left when the Darkness was making a resurgence. He could still imagine Cayde, Ikora and Zavala bickering over hypothetical situations. Lord Shaxx probably still hadn't moved from his position in the hallways, mystifying and captivating new Guardians with his imposing visage.

His thoughts turned to those that existed before the City existed. If he included himself, only a handful remained. Hell, he was probably the only one of them who recalled his name. He remembered that one of the earliest warlocks spent every moment of their time cooped up in the archives, sifting through engrams for anything that could give the Guardians an advantage. A fellow Titan constantly reinforced the Wall, only stopping to ponder his existence and what may come when night fell. And all but one of the Hunters left in pursuit of greater challenges.

"Is something the matter?" A sultry voice asked him. A simple turn of his head revealed a young woman with a waterfall of dark hair that fell to the nape of her neck and partially obscured her face. She travelled light, wearing only a deep red dress so short it was bound to attract wrong company. It was held aloft by straps that wrapped around her neck and tied into a bow. The sleeves were entirely separated from the dress itself, but drew attention due to the interesting designs woven into them. He could see a small glimmer of metal and a hint of fletching poking out from the travel pack she placed on the seat next to hers

"Just remembering better times." He turned his attention back to the view outside, seemingly unimpressed by the young woman.

* * *

Cinder couldn't believe her luck, she was just giving up on her search for this Praetor when he practically falls right into her lap. While she was a little annoyed that her seductive voice and jaw-dropping looks failed to capture his attention, all that it meant was that he wasn't a brute ruled by his dick, unlike some men she had the displeasure to meet.

Sadly she only knew the barest of information about this man, so she would have to do some subtle probing.

"I know what you mean…" She decided to try the 'Sympathetic Stranger' card. "When the future seems bleak, it's easier to get lost in memories." She heard Praetor give a humourless chuckle.

"It is indeed easier, to face happy memories than an uncertain future." She could see his content smile in the window's reflection. "But, I'd rather face an uncertain future, than a future without deviation or cause."

"They do say that 'variety is the spice of life'." Praetor hummed in agreement, ending the topic altogether.

Perhaps he had seen through her falsely sympathetic façade or he was just bored of her. Time to go for broke. "Say, I've got a… Business venture that I'm currently undertaking." Cinder began, seeing if she got his attention. If the slight perk of his ears counted, he was listening. "I may require the services of a strong Huntsman, such as yourself, in the near future."

"Oh, and how would you know that I am a strong Huntsman?" He asked, his attention now firmly on her.

Hook, line and sinker.

"One does tend to hear things when travelling through Patch." Cinder pretended to inspect her nails. "A large, armed and armoured man, walking in and out of such a peaceful town like Patch? It could only mean one thing."

"Fine, I'm a Huntsman." Praetor growled. "Happy?"

"No need to be so…" She breathed deeply, as if inhaling the short burst of anger. "…Aggressive." Cinder purred, licking her lips with a sensual moan as if she had just tasted a fine delicacy. "I simply ask that you contact me if you need work." Her hand slithered over to his gauntleted hand and gently pulled it open. With her other hand she brought out a small card, from a pouch on her hip and slid it into his now open palm.

Cinder leaned over to his shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes with her own glowing a bright amber. "I look forward to hearing from you." She whispered, her voice laced with barely restrained desire. With nothing left to say, she stood up and disappeared from his sight.

* * *

Praetor's gaze lingered on the woman as she disappeared into a different cabin before he turned back to inspect the card in his hands. The card itself was a deep red, the same shade as the woman's dress, he noted. The reverse side of the card was blank except for a golden vine border. Printed on it was single, golden word in immaculate font followed by a series of numbers.

"Fall." Praetor murmured, pondering the intentions of the woman. It could be just about anything from a genuine business practice to organised crime.

Whatever it was she wanted, it was genuine. There was no lie in her voice when she voiced her proposal. However, the Titan wouldn't be foolish enough to immediately take the offer.

* * *

Praetor rubbed his brow as he walked through Vale, idly heading in a random direction. His mind occupied by the woman from the airship. On one hand he could stay the course and continue earning a dishonest living. Or he could contact 'Miss Fall' and enquire to her proposal.

This decision was better left to an outside force. He reached into a pocket and retrieved a keepsake from his time as a Guardian. It was a simple gold coin, one side had a depiction of the Tower, the other the Traveler and the City. He kept it around for these exact situations.

"Tower, I contact one of the teams." He muttered, turning the coin around in his fingers. "City, I contact Miss Fall."

With a sharp flick of his thumb, the coin flew into the air…

* * *

Sat in her favourite seat in her less-than-ideal temporary hideout, Cinder pondered on what move she should next make. On a table to her side sat her open Scroll. Ultimately, she would have the city around her in ruins, and from it she would rise, leading its people and creating a new kingdom. One where she was ruler, where the only one who had power was her.

To do this, she would need associates. Individuals with exceptional skill, enough to rival her own. She had a small list already, one of them she had already met, but had yet to answer. The others would require patience and her own sort of work to find. Their own motivations mattered little to her, though if they strayed from their loyalties, she would happily put them in their place.

Tomorrow, she would begin looking for her next would-be associate. She would start in the seedier parts of town, her target should have a reputation among them.

She slowly rose from her seat, intent on going to bed, when her Scroll began to ring. She examined the unknown number with a raised eyebrow. Unknowns were not her favourite thing, unknowns meant danger and threat. This time however, she decided to forgo caution. Whomever was calling must know her in some capacity.

Click, "Hello?" She greeted with a drop of her usual sensuality.

"Miss Fall?" The Huntsman from the airbus. She realised, her smile growing larger. Still, it could be a fake.

"May I ask who I am speaking to?" She decided to play ignorant for now, after all she did come on a little strong before.

"Forgive me. My name is Praetor, we met on the airbus to Vale from Patch. You requested that I contact you should I be interested in work." He explained, his voice sounded a little defeated. Though she did have to admit, she liked his speech mannerisms.

"Ah, yes the Huntsman." Cinder faked a sudden recollection, complete with an audible clicking of her fingers. "How did your search go?"

"Let us forego the pleasantries." A hint of his temper showed.

"Very well, Praetor." Cinder sat back down, reclaiming the feeling of soft leather. "As I said before, I am interested in your services. Specifically, your ability in the heat of battle."

"What do you wish to know?"

"I've heard rumours that you single-handedly slaughtered a horde of Grimm, and another that said that you fought two elite Huntsman to a standstill." Cinder leaned back, her imagination running wild from what she heard of this man. "Are these rumours true, or false?"

"Even the most outlandish of rumours, have roots in reality."

"Answer the question." She demanded firmly, making sure her tone left no room for argument.

"They are true."

"That is good to hear." Now that the man has confirmed these stories himself, it would be beneficial to close the deal. "If you are able, meet me tomorrow afternoon in the Vale Dockyard District. We can discuss payment for your services then."

"Very well, Miss Fall."

Click.

"One by one, the pieces assemble on the board."

* * *

The following day, Praetor found himself walking into the dockyard district of Vale. Along the streets were various shops selling anything from Dust to jewels to magazines. As he passed one shop he noticed that it was closed due to a police investigation.

As he turned down an alleyway, he got halfway through when something tingled in the back of his head. Without thinking, he abruptly turned around and grabbed something he couldn't quite see. The moment his hand closed around it, the illusion shattered and he was left holding aloft a young dark-skinned girl by her neck.

The girl's arms flailed around as she furiously tried to find purchase on his armoured forearm. As her cheeks were beginning to turn blue, he realised she was running out of air. Her legs quickly joined her arms as they tried to kick him, all the while she struggled to breathe.

"Impressive, Praetor." A familiar, sultry voice remarked behind him. "Now release her."

He did so, not willing to argue with Miss Fall, especially when she was holding the ticket to Blake's future. "Who is she?" The Titan asked, gesturing to the mint-haired girl who was gasping for breath.

"An associate of mine." Cinder sighed. Praetor took note of Miss Fall's weaponry strapped to the small of her back, a pair of blades and a quiver of arrows. "You could say that she and I struck an accord. But enough about her. Are you here to accept my proposal?"

"If the terms are acceptable. I have yet to hear the details of this proposal, however."

"Of course. This is an undertaking that may take years to come to fruition. It does involve a certain level of discretion, so you sadly won't be privy to the entire plan." Cinder stalked towards Praetor, her eyes faintly glowing. "But if you have faith, I will reward you handsomely."

"Seventy-five thousand, monthly." Praetor crossed his arms. "With at least three days off each month."

"Done." Cinder held out her hand, offering it to Praetor. The old Titan looked at the hand, it was almost too small, too smooth. Yet the woman it was attached to was incredibly confident, and it showed. Her posture, her speech, it all spoke of someone who could and would do anything.

This felt like a deal with a devil, but if it meant he could care for Blake, he would gladly do it.

He extended his own hand and grasped it firmly.

XXXXX

AN: Edited version posted 4/July/16


	8. Chapter 7

A Step too Far

Chapter 7

An old Titan decides to climb off the walls and take a step away from the Traveler. He never intended to walk so far. He never regretted taking that step.

* * *

Blake smiled as she marvelled at the view from her seat. Said view being Beacon Academy, the school she, Yang and Ruby were attending starting today. Somehow, during a visit to Vale, Ruby managed to impress a teacher by stopping a robbery. She couldn't help but chuckle at Ruby being bear-hugged by her big sister.

The Faunus spared a glance at the nearby holo-projection. On it was a young-looking woman relaying events of the previous day. What caught her eye was the picture of White Fang symbol. Apparently the latest rally had turned violent and had to be broken up by police. Blake bit her lip in worry.

The White Fang had a drastic change of heart in the last few years. Moving openly from public disturbances to outright terrorism. The thought that if it weren't for Praetor, she might have been one of them suddenly shook her.

The picture fizzed out, being replaced by the visage of a woman.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honour of being selected-" Blake tuned the woman out, she heard the 'privileged few' bit at her graduation at Signal. Then again, she wondered if Beacon really was as prestigious as claimed. Certainly a lot of people from Signal didn't make the cut, especially if the lack of familiar faces was any clue.

Any further thought was interrupted as the ship came to a halt and students began filing out. Yang gave her shoulder a nudge. Oddly enough, the immediate area also suddenly smelled of vomit.

* * *

Roman Torchwick twirled his cane as he walked into his hideout. An inconspicuous old warehouse that the pigs wouldn't look twice at. "Neo, I'm home!" he announced, his arms swept aside in a dramatic fashion.

From her place on the lounge, a short, pink and brown haired lady popped her head up, a decorative metal spoon sticking out from her mouth.

"Really, Neo?" Roman exasperated as he passed her. "Ice cream again? You're gonna get fat by eating that every day."

Neo's response was to stick her tongue out at him and kick her high-heeled boots up onto the coffee table, letting out a little squeal of delight as she took another bite. Her blissful expression changed when she heard the door creaking open.

Once more, the diminutive woman peeked over her shoulder to see who it was. Her eyes flashed pink as she hastily placed her ice cream down and rushed towards them. Despite being only as tall as his stomach, she latched onto their arm with a contented smile.

Praetor sighed at the tiny woman's affections. After he first confronted Torchwick a few years ago, the young lady pretty much smitten with him for whatever reason.

Back then, Roman was little more than an up-start who'd hire him on occasion. Praetor would do the job, no questions asked and they'd shake hands and exchange payment. Every so often, Roman would bring Neo along, 'Added insurance' he called it, but Praetor could tell that the man was paranoid.

Regardless, in the hand that wasn't being occupied by a small woman, he was carrying a heavy crate of Dust from Roman's latest armoured truck robbery.

Cinder had decided have Praetor keep an eye on Roman as insurance if the man was foolish enough to try and stab her in the back. Having a highly trained Huntsman assisting him was also likely to boost the rate at which they gathered the Dust needed for her plan. As far as she was concerned it was pretty much a win-win situation, with the only possible downside being that he'd be unable to assist her at her beck and call.

He drew his attention back to the small lady who was happily soaking in his presence. While he was glad that at least someone didn't treat him as inferior or a brainless idiot, her amorous actions were starting to bug him. He was about to say something along the lines of 'I'm busy' when his scroll chimed. After gently placing the crate down, he fished it out and read the message out loud.

" _I missed you_." His gaze returned to Neo as she looked up at him with a bright smile. He scratched his beard as he thought of how to let her down gently. "Look, Neo." He began, kneeling down to her level. "I appreciate what you're doing, but-" His scroll chimed again.

' _I don't care about what you're going to say, I'm not going to let it go.'_ Neo gave him a stubborn look, Praetor had to remind himself that she had a sharp mind and wasn't easily shaken from her ideals.

"…That's not the issue… I have a daughter." Her expression shifted to surprise and then into conviction. His scroll chimed.

' _I don't mind, I love children.'_ She now settled with a happy smile as she pantomimed cradling a baby. She was lying she absolutely hated children, but if it got him to like her it was fine.

"No, she's actually a little younger than yourself. She's even in a combat school now." A twinge of pride entering his voice.

 _Chime_

' _Then what's the problem? Am I not good enough?'_ Her expression was now rather angry, with her hands on her hips and giving him a smouldering look. Despite the fact that he had another woman in his life, Neo was glad that she wouldn't be a problem. Though the way he spoke about her was concerning…

Praetor couldn't help but sigh, Neo was too much for him. First the clinging, now this? Where does it end? He needed to cull this behaviour before it got out of hand.

"…Neo, I'm not interested in a relationship." He told her firmly.

There was a clatter as her scroll dropped onto the floor. Neo was trying to cover her mouth in an effort to contain her shock. Slowly, she began shaking her head, trying to deny it with all the willpower she had. The shaking was stopped when his large hands were placed comfortingly on her shoulders.

"It's ok, Neo. I'm not cutting you out of my life." He gave her a warm smile that calmed her down a little bit. "I kind of see you like I would a little sister or a good friend. You understand?" Though it hurt deep in her chest, she reluctantly nodded and sniffed back some tears. He picked up her scroll and placed it in her hands. "There you go. Now I have to get back to work, we'll talk afterwards, ok?"

This time she gave him a more affirmative nod. As he walked away, she couldn't help but imagine seeing him as a knight in shining armour. The image quickly evolved into having him carrying her like a princess. That sounded nice. One day, it'll happen.

A little fairy-tale ending. Just for her.

* * *

Often when recruiting for less than reputable reasons, one had to test the convictions of said recruit.

Cinder's test for Praetor involved raiding the base camp of the White Fang. He was to make his way to the command tent via the most heavily guarded areas, dealing with the members along the way as he pleased. Much to his credit, he remained professional about it.

Before he breached the outer perimeter, the Titan uttered a short repentance for what was about to occur. It was a little ritual he made for himself when the riots in the City began. People desperately scrambling for food and shelter escalated quickly. Before long they turned on the Guardians. It was mostly spearheaded by youths who had spent their entire lives under the Traveler, never knowing about the perils outside the walls. The amount of organised Guardians back then only numbered a few hundred, barely enough to keep the Fallen Houses at bay, let alone provide assistance to City Peacekeepers.

Praetor finished his rites and took a deep breath.

The guards didn't get any kind of warning when their gate basically disintegrated from one of Praetor's Magnetic grenades. The remaining guards, while dazed, knew that this would eventually happen and with trained efficiency opened fire on the newly breached gate.

When the dust settled, not one of the guards expected anything to still be alive, let alone be protected by a dome of shimmering energy. Scattered all around the dome were the fired bullets, now in heaps on the ground. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the mountain of a man within. With practiced ease the man opened reloaded a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun.

The Titan levelled his gaze at them and began to walk out of the bubble.

"Open Fire!" shouted one of the guards, a loud war cry joined him alongside the thunder of numerous rifles.

The bullets bounced off a thick, blue shroud that seemingly formed from the dome. If any damage to the barrier, it was quickly repaired. The guards were undeterred, keeping their triggers pressed until they ran out of ammo.

As he drew close, the Titan raised his shotgun with one hand and fired both barrels at a group of four soldiers. Three went down with pained screams and the fourth had his hand reduced to a stump.

"Scatter!" the commanding officer ordered. The men complied, moving out of their hasty formations and into cover. This did little to deter the Titan and he calmly reloaded the shotgun.

The gathered Faunus were quickly losing their morale, despite the officer's attempts to keep them in line. It didn't help when the Titan began picking up speed, making a beeline straight towards the shouting man.

The charge was interrupted by the sudden interference of a thrown chainsaw. Praetor saw it just in time to block but not avoid it. The force behind the throw was enough to make his barrier fade but not knock him down. The Titan looked to where it was thrown from and spotted a new combatant, a larger Faunus than his brethren. Standing almost seven feet in height and broad-shouldered with arms bare. Like the others he wore primarily white but sported a full face mask, rather than the half-mask the grunts tended to wear. He was shouting at the officer to regroup with his men.

"You're going to pay for hurting my Brothers, Human." He boasted, approaching with his arms wide, inviting the Titan to attack.

Not rising to the bait, Praetor simply fired his shotgun at the open Faunus. The masked Faunus was faster than he let on, rolling under the spread of pellets and reach his chainsaw. The machine revved to life as the large Faunus ripped it out of the ground with an upward slash towards the Titan, forcing him to drop his shotgun.

Reacting fast, Praetor blocked with his arms, angling his arm-guards so that the chainsaw didn't bite into it but slid off instead. He retaliated by grabbing hold of the Faunus' arms to prevent a downward slash, followed up with a head-butt that fractured the Grimm-like mask.

The White Fang's Lieutenant faltered, but managed to reorient himself in time to block a punch with the flat of his blade. Once again, the two men were locked when the Titan grabbed his opponent's wrists. The Lieutenant was tenacious however, kneeing his foe in the gut repeatedly. The stalemate was ended when the invader managed to swing the Faunus into a nearby tent.

The reprieve from the melee didn't last long, as the Lieutenant leap out from the tent, chainsaw high above him. The swing was easily dodged with a side step. The follow-up attack wasn't as easy as the chainsaw was swung parallel to the ground mere moments after the last. The Lieutenant smirked behind his mask as the swing connected, sending the Titan to the ground. The masked Faunus was quick to launch another offensive, swinging his chainsaw overhead towards the neck.

Praetor acted faster, in the matter of a few milliseconds, he gathered and the void energy required for the Ward of Dawn. Instantly, the two were encased in a bubble of bluish light and the chainsaw grinded against the ethereal barrier that surrounded Praetor.

The chainsaw was slapped away and the Lieutenant was dealt a disorienting uppercut. With his enemy properly stunned, the Titan got around him, grabbed his wrist and delivered a devastating elbow to the head, knocking him out cold.

With the Lieutenant dealt with, Praetor was free to advance towards the center of the camp. Hopefully with minimal resistance…

* * *

Adam considered himself a passionate man, one of action and sharp of mind. Not even in his most far-fetched thoughts did he think it was possible for a lone man to penetrate so far into his compound. Those with the capability to do such a thing were few and far between, with all the likely candidates being Huntsman.

Then a thought occurred. That woman from a few days ago, the one who was looking to hire the White Fang for her pathetic ambitions. Could it be possible that she actually took his words literally, enlisting a rogue Huntsman?

His question was answered as a member of his guard suddenly sailed passed him and into his strategy table. Adam turned to see the intruder, a beast of a man, taller than even his Lieutenant, clutching a shotgun, just beyond the edge of his tent. The man's stance reminded him of a high ranking guard, intimidating and indomitable. Yet the armour that he wore was thickly plated, it was a wonder the man could even move.

"So here you are, the Rogue Huntsman, who charges headfirst into battle despite being vastly outnumbered." Adam's grip on Wilt and Blush tightened. "Tell me, Human. What does it feel like to murder people whose only crime was suffering under Human boots and lash?"

"I _always_ feel regret at having anyone die by my hand." he answered, his voice almost too quiet to hear. "After every battle in which a life was lost, I pray for forgiveness."

"I see." Adam took a slow inhale. "You grieve for them? Yet you continue on your chosen path." He gave Wilt a flick with his thumb, exposing a hint of the blood red blade to the intruder. "I've also made my choice. And I refuse to let it be for nothing!"

"Don't be hasty, Adam."

That voice, that insufferable harlot's voice that made his blood boil for just leaving her alive.

"Our offer from before still stands." Cinder slid into view, standing next to Praetor, her two subordinates, Emerald and Mercury he remembered their names to be, behind them with a suitcase each. "We could have gone to anyone for help. But we chose you."

Cheap words and empty threats. If that was all she had to offer he should cut her down right now.

"Our plan will be beneficial for both of us." She raised her arm at him and the pattern on her sleeve glowed as the ground right before Adam's feet burst into flames, making him instinctively retreat back from the sudden intense heat. "Or one of us."

The two behind Cinder placed their cases on the ground and opened them, revealing vials of Dust and stacks of Lien cards. "Which shall it be?"

With his life and the lives of his brothers and sisters at the mercy of a witch, a Titan and two others, Adam ceded sliding Wilt back into Blush and relaxing his stance.

Cinder smiled.

* * *

It would be obvious that from their first meeting onward, that there would be tension. But thankfully, there was a set of words that she felt could summarize the message.

Blake didn't like Weiss Schnee.

Normally Blake wouldn't get involved with such people. They tended to be a rather unfriendly sort, shooting distrustful looks when she wasn't looking and whispering behind her back. But since her good friend, Ruby, decided to make a poor first impression by crashing into the heiress and accidentally setting off some volatile Dust, she felt the need to intervene.

"You alright, Ruby?" Blake pulled younger girl up to her feet and brushed some dirt and soot off of her. "No bruises or lost hair? You know how Yang gets about unintentionally losing hair."

"I-I'm ok, just a little d-dizzy." Ruby assured, holding her head in a vain attempt to make the world stop spinning. "The Princess was a little rude though." She mumbled.

"Unbelievable!" came the indignant cry from Weiss. "This is exactly the kind of this I was talking about!"

"I'm sorry." Ruby squeaked, attempting to hide behind Blake.

"Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?" Weiss continued to chastise her, ignoring Blake. "We're here to fight Grimm, Monsters. This isn't a school for kids like you to play around in!"

"Hey, lay off." Blake barked, her yellow eyes burning. "She may be younger, but that doesn't mean she isn't any less talented."

To her credit, Weiss only took a fleeting glimpse at Blake's ears before levelling a cold stare at her.

"She also recognized her mistake." Blake continued. "And attempted to apologize. The least you could do is reciprocate." The cat-girl huffed and muttered. "Even if it's unlikely."

"What was that you cur!?"

Blake clucked her tongue and pulled Ruby towards the school by the arm. "Come on, Ruby. Seems that the Princess is angry."

Even with Blake's pulling, Ruby managed to shout out another 'I'm sorry!'

Arriving late to the party, a young lad named Jaune stopped next to the fuming heiress. "That was something, huh?" he commented, only having witnessed everything from afar and only hearing a few bits.

"...Shut it, you dolt."

* * *

Although Praetor disliked the notion of organised crime, he had to agree with a few of the benefits. The one he most agreed with, though it made him sound greedy, was the more than suitable payment.

He was no fool, he knew that getting involved with Cinder was a bad idea, a very bad idea. The woman practically exuded an aura of power and ruthlessness. In her exchanges with him, she was courteous, acknowledging him almost as an equal. Though equals in what regard he did not know, he knew enough to see that her ulterior motive was to keep him complacent, meaning that she did not want him to interfere with something.

As Qrow had warned him, Praetor was indeed being watched by people with influence. It was inevitably a matter of time before they took notice of his new occupation. He wasn't surprised when they had discreetly asked him to meet with them.

At the current time, Praetor was stood in an alleyway with only an inconspicuous door between him and his watchers. He had taken precautions beforehand, as Cinder would almost definitely have someone watching him. Wandering the city was quite boring to him, most of his outings usually had a defined goal and without one he ended up walking in a circle before heading to the meeting place.

Upon opening the door, he was greeted by the sight of a dark room with a simple wooden table and two chairs. A single light hung from the ceiling giving the room all the light that was required.

Already sitting at the table was Professor Ozpin, a mug of hot coffee in his hands. Praetor heard the door close behind him with a click, twisting his head, he caught sight of the second of the room's occupants. A middle aged woman with blonde curls and glasses, holding a riding crop and an open Scroll in her hands.

"Mister Praetor." Ozpin addressed him, inviting him to sit down with his hand. An invitation that Praetor took as the woman took her place standing beside Ozpin. "I take it you know why I called you here?"

"You're curious about my recent actions?" Praetor placed his elbows on the table and clasped his hands before him. "About my association with known criminals?"

"Indeed." Ozpin took a quick sip. "It is my understanding that you have dealings with the White Fang and known criminal Roman Torchwick, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"Praetor, you know me to be a careful man. It is not in my nature to act without a clear picture. So if you would be so kind, please enlighten me."

"… Long ago, I fought to protect everything I knew. Everything I did, was to keep people from a danger they couldn't face themselves. Eventually I grew tired of it. The people I protected were thankful, for a while. My fellow protectors grew fewer each year, each replaced by ones younger, more eager and bright-eyed than ourselves."

"I saw no more use for myself, so I left. I wandered, I fought, and then I found a little girl with no one to love her. I took her in, gave her a home and some warm food. Before I knew it, we were family and I had someone who needed my protection again."

"She may not be my flesh and blood, but I would give my life for her if need be." Praetor lowered his hands to look Ozpin in the eye. "She is everything to me now, if it means I have to do something questionable in order to see her safe. Then so be it."

Ozpin took another sip from his mug and mulled over his next question while the woman quirked her eyebrow at him in a disbelieving manner.

"What were the circumstances that prevented another course of action? Surely there were alternatives to crime?"

"Providing for two whilst on the straight and narrow, it tends to be harder than you may think. With people higher up having me on their suspect list getting better paying jobs was harder. Add in the loan sharks, the debt and my own dwindling funds, it was a precarious position."

Before Ozpin could weigh in, Praetor held up a hand. "I'm ashamed to say that I was played. They come across and give me an offer that I couldn't refuse during a time of need. But I'm not so blind to not see the advantages that such a position affords."

"I am listening." Ozpin leaned forward, intrigued.

"I can provide information and I will be in a good position to strike from when the time comes."

"What kind of information can you provide?"

"Unfortunately, it would be rather vague… The mastermind operates on a 'need to know' basis." Praetor deliberately withheld Cinder's name, he wanted to use it as a bargaining chip.

"'The mastermind'?" The woman asked, her expression beginning to show a scowl.

"I'll provide details if you promise me to look out for Blake."

Ozpin gulped down the rest of his coffee, it now being cooled down enough to not burn himself. He placed the empty mug to the side and held out a hand to the Titan.

"Mister Praetor, I find your offer to be with good intent and you have my word that young Blake will be sufficiently cared for. I accept your terms."

"You do right by me and I will be at your side when needed."

Their hands clasped.

* * *

Blake let her eyes scan the sight in front of her. Each target could be of vital importance to her current task. They were all clustered rather fairly tightly, roughly ten metres away from her position. She bit her lip, trying her best to make the correct decision.

The cute guy with the friendly smile and the book or his friend who was flexing his well-defined muscles. Which was more attractive?

The book meant that the guy liked to read, and if her eyes were true it was one of her favourites. But on the other hand, the muscly guy could probably fight better. But on the other other hand, book guy **was** at beacon so he had to a good fighter. Her thoughts went back and forth, in an attempt to rationalise her dilemma.

It was the evening to her first day at Beacon, which basically involved the headmaster speaking to them before leaving them to their devices for the rest of the day. Currently, all the new students had to sleep in the grand hall. Thinking of it as a big slumber party, Yang decided to pose the question that had Blake's head in a whirl.

Yang was giggling to herself as she watched her closest friend's inner turmoil from her question. Ruby was on the other side of Blake, writing a letter to her friends back at Signal. Finally, Blake caved and curled into herself with a groan.

"Ah, I can't decide." She cried, much to Yang's amusement. Ruby looked up from her letter to actually survey the boys herself and found them lacking.

"What's the big deal about boys?" She asked innocently. Suddenly Ruby found herself being hugged tightly by Yang. "Uh, Yang? What're you doing?"

"Oh, my sweet, darling little sister." Yang cooed. "Don't change."

"Umm…"

All three girls turned their attention to the new voice. Yang was the first to react by snickering, which soon erupted into laughter. The reason was because the speaker was a blonde haired lad named Jaune, who was currently dressed in a baby-blue onesie with matching bunny slippers.

"Well, that does wonders for my self-esteem." He muttered to himself, trying to hide his embarrassment. Thankfully Blake heard it and spoke up to control the damage.

"Ignore her, it takes courage to wear something like that in public. Besides, I think it's cute." Blake stood up and gave the boy a smile. "I'm Blake, that's Yang and the smaller one is Ruby."

"Thanks, I'm uh Jaune." He awkwardly introduced himself. "I never really got to introduce myself earlier. I, well, saw what happened at the courtyard."

"Oh, right." Blake was really unsure what to do now. "I guess, I left an impression, huh?" She tried to laugh it off, but it ended up being more awkward.

"You're telling me, Weiss is still fuming from what you said." At the mention of Schnee heiress, Blake clenched her teeth.

"Oh, really?" She managed to say.

"Yeah, I've been listening to her rant for a while now." He glanced behind him, to where the white-haired girl was stiffly brushing her hair. "Look, I can understand the distrust between you two. With you being a Faunus and her a Schnee. But please don't hold it against her."

"Why shouldn't I?" Blake began to frown, friendly guy or not, she didn't like to have her friends chosen for her. "You do know what her family has done to my people, right?"

"Yeah, I do." Jaune admitted. "But I also know what the White Fang has done to her." The look in his eyes said more than he did. Weiss was probably a lot more hurt than she was. "She came here to get away from her family. She doesn't want to end up like her father."

It was well known that the Schnee head wasn't popular with the Faunus and with good reason. He was, by a large margin, the biggest employer of Faunus labour with dust mines and quarries around the world being fuelled by their hard work.

Anyone who was against him earned a point in Blake's book. Even if it was his own daughter.

"Just keep what I said in mind okay?" Jaune asked, a genuine smile shining brightly at her. Blake was still staring at the Heiress, still trying to digest the information.

"…Ok."

"Thanks Blake. Have a good night."

With his piece said, Jaune returned to Weiss' side and began chatting with her.

 _Maybe Beacon will be more fun that I realised._

* * *

Edited 4/July/16


	9. Chapter 8

A Step too Far

Chapter 8

An old Titan decides to climb off the walls and take a step away from the Traveler. He never intended to walk so far. He never regretted taking that step.

* * *

The following morning, Jaune woke up to the most wonderful sight in his relatively short life. Laying before him was a sleeping angel, the early morning light from the windows giving her an almost radiant beauty. Her snow-white hair fanned out beneath her that had remained untouched all night.

The young man replayed the events of the previous day in his head, still amazed at how it ended up with him in this position.

Sadly for him, that day had started out with him vomiting breakfast from his motion sickness. It incapacitated him for a good few minutes, enough time for the rest of the students to vacate the airship and move towards the grand-looking academy. By the time he had finished emptying his stomach, there were only a few students left in the courtyard. Two of them seemingly having a fight.

The 'Lady Charmer' lessons drilled into him by his father, pushed him to see if he could possibly try to resolve it. The young man's father, however was notorious for giving bad advice, so he was inclined to ignore that particular response. That response died out when he recognised two key things. The first was that one girl was wearing a dress that bore the Schnee symbol. The other was that the other girl was a Faunus.

Luckily, it ended without violence. But it was clear that the Schnee girl was angry. Once again, his 'Lady killer' lessons told him to try and comfort her.

"That was something, huh?" he asked, stopping beside the white haired girl and giving her a sympathetic smile.

"…Shut it, you dolt." She snapped. Her hands were shaking at her sides and he could see her jaw was clenched.

"Well, come on. We'd better get moving. Don't want to be late for orientation right?" Jaune asked, stepping ahead and gesturing towards the auditorium. The girl took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled slowly. Jaune recognised it as a calming exercise.

"You're right, I suppose." Her lips pressed into a thin line while she glared at something out of the corner of her eye. She seemed calm on the outside, but she was still fuming on the inside. Jaune found this look on her a little cute. Before he took another step however, something occurred to him and he smacked himself lightly on the forehead.

"Jeez, I'm an idiot. I didn't even introduce myself!" He presented his open hand to the snow-coloured girl. "I'm Jaune Arc." The girl looked uncomfortable for a moment before accepting his hand gently.

"Weiss Schnee." She announced with a clear and practiced voice. Though the way she rolled her eyes and subtly bit her lip said that she was bored of the action.

"Nice to meet you, Weiss." Jaune greeted with a smile. Despite herself, Weiss couldn't help but smile a little in return. "How's about we have a practice match after the orientation so you can vent some of that steam?"

Weiss' eyebrows rose a little and her jaw slackened for a split second before it shifted back into a more eager look. "Very well, Jaune. Don't think I will go easy on you however." She challenged, turning to walk down the path.

"Wouldn't have it any other way, Snow Angel."

He never saw the light pink-dusting on her cheeks.

* * *

As of late, Praetor noticed that Neo had been following him around like his shadow. It was only out of the corners of his eyes that he actually noticed, because whenever he turned towards her she vanished from sight. It felt quite weird for him to be the followed party for once, usually he'd be the one stalking down prey and eliminating them. With Neo practically watching his every move, he felt a lot more on edge, like his life was possibly in danger.

On the other end, Neo was studying. Studying Praetor to be more exact. She wanted to know more about him, what he liked, what he didn't like, how he did things and mostly just to ogle him when he finally took his heavy armour off. That particular goal was accomplished a couple days ago when she hid a camera in his bathroom.

Neo liked what she saw.

Once work was done, she'd wait in the lounge room for him with his favourite cold drink ready. Chilled water from a glass bottle. She learned that little factoid from her second excursion to his living quarters. Then came the home-cooked dinner, Neo wasn't that confident in her cooking, but he ate it anyways and always complimented her afterwards. It was little things like, 'That was good, thanks', but it never failed to brighten her day.

Every now and then, however, Neo got a little too bold for Praetor's liking. The first time was when she decided to walk around his apartment in her underwear first thing in the morning. Although he was flustered, he managed to reprimand her about it.

The second time happened when she snuck into his bed. Praetor started locking his bedroom window afterwards.

And the third? Well, Neo doesn't like to kiss and tell…

* * *

Blake awoke with a stretch, arching her back so far that her head almost touch her pillow again. She didn't sleep too comfortably last night, she was still used to her old bed. To her left slumbered Ruby, her eyes covered by her Grimm-styled eye mask and hugging her pillow to death. On closer inspection, Blake saw a little bit of drool coming from the corner of her mouth.

Beyond the young girl was Yang, sprawled out all over her bed-roll with the covers scrunched up around her feet. From the blonde's mouth came a dull roar, Yang's snoring no doubt.

Finishing her wake-up stretches, Blake finally looked around the room. Everywhere there were teens sleeping, snoring and even a few early risers. One of which was a bouncy girl with short orange hair who was shaking her neighbour awake. The boy that was getting the shake-treatment wore his dark hair long and tied off near the base of his neck. Blake almost pitied the guy.

She risked a glance over towards where she remembered Jaune would be. Sure enough, he too, was awake. Their gazes met for a second and he waved in a greeting. Blake decided to be nice and was about to wave back when behind him, Weiss rose up and rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes. The Schnee girl noticed her and scowled a little, then noticed that Jaune was waving to her and decided to glare at him.

Blake figured it was best not to interfere, so she instead got to work on rousing her friends. First Ruby then Yang. A gentle shake was enough to get Ruby awake, but it took both girls and a few light slaps to wake Yang.

When they arrived at the girl's shower room, Yang was still rubbing her sore cheek.

* * *

Jaune hesitantly walked through the locker room looking for the one locker that held his family-heirloom of a weapon. Clutched in his hands was a slip of paper with a number written on it, he had taken the note yesterday when they first stowed their weapons so he could remember the locker, however the note somehow lost its effectiveness overnight.

"This can't be right, I swear that my locker wasn't nearly this far along," he mumbled to himself, checking the paper once more. As his luck would have it, young Jaune stumbled into someone. "Oof, sorry about that." He apologised immediately.

The person in question was none other than Pyrrha Nikos, a young woman who'd been invited to attend Beacon from Mistral due to her outstanding record. "It's ok," she dismissed with a bright smile, "Nothing's broken and nobody's hurt."

"Jaune?" asked a familiar voice. The blonde boy turned to see the snow angel herself in full battle gear. A white and ice-blue battle dress and bolero jacket with bits of lace designed to look like bits of snow-flake. At her hip sat her weapon, a rapier that held revolving chambers of dust. She had also taken time to loop her hair into an off-centre ponytail which was held in place by a jewelled tiara. "Who're you talking to?" she questioned, giving the taller red-head a subtle glare.

"Actually, I don't know." He admitted with a bashful laugh. He turned to the red-head and held out his hand. "Sorry, I'm Jaune Arc." It was about now that the young man actually let himself look over the person he was talking to.

Starting from the top, Jaune took in her bright-red hair that was tied up into a long pony tail and her bronze circlet that was partially obscured by her bangs. Wrapped around her torso was a leather-piece that split down the middle and bore bronze embroidery and studs. Over her legs she wore bronze greaves that ended in a pair of high-heeled boots.

Between the two beautiful ladies, Jaune felt a little out of place with his hoodie, jeans and sneakers. The armour plates and gauntlets that he had strapped on helped a little, but not by much.

"Pyrrha Nikos." The red-head introduced herself by shaking his hand firmly and with a gentle smile.

"Waitwaitwaitwaitiwaitwait." The two turned to see Weiss shaking her head in disbelief. "Do you mean, THE Pyrrha Nikos?" The Schnee heiress suddenly had stars in her eyes.

"I guess so?" Pyrrha replied, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

"Oh. My. God." Weiss breathed.

"Is she someone I should know about?" Jaune asked, incredibly confused by Weiss' attitude shift. Neither of them noticed Pyrrha's expression soften at Jaune's question.

"How could you not know about her?" Weiss slapped Jaune's shoulder. "She's won the Mistral Regional Tournament four times in a row!"

"The what?"

Weiss visibly fumed, shaking her arms trying to get her point across. "She's on the cover of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!"

"That's you!?" he gasped dramatically, feigning his excitement.

Pyrrha giggled a little at his enthusiasm, even if it was falsely over-the-top. "Yeah, it was kinda cool. Shame that the cereal isn't good for you."

" _Attention, all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again, all first year students to Beacon Cliff for initiation."_ Came Glynda Goodwitch's voice over the intercom.

"I guess that's us, huh?" Jaune summarised, "Shall we go ladies?"

* * *

Blake found herself peering over the edge of Beacon Cliff. Red leaves stretched for miles, and even in the distance she could barely make out a greyish blob that could be ruins.

She could hear Ozpin's muted voice speaking to the rest of the students. She didn't bother to take much heed from the man, though she did file away a few key words. 'Land', 'Eyes', 'Partner', 'North', 'Ruins', 'Relic'. From those alone she could infer a few things, one being that their partners could be selected via eye contact. Harsh, but random.

Another thing she deduced was that she was supposed to head north and retrieve a relic from some ruins, that being the main objective. If there was a time-limit or not was up in the air, though Blake suspected that she should keep a steady pace none-the less.

"Any questions?" Ozpin's voice broke through her thoughts. Seeing nobody raise their hands, he pressed a button on his scroll. At one end of the line of students, someone was suddenly flung into the air towards the forest. To her right, she saw Yang shake her hair and slip on a pair of Aviator sunglasses. Beyond her, Ruby had deployed Crescent Rose and was shaking nervously.

To her left, Jaune had drawn his sword and was inspecting his shield. He noticed her and gave a curt nod before being shot off into the forest. Now it was Blake's turn.

Without warning, she was suddenly in the air with the ground very, very far beneath her. She took the moment to revel in the feeling of flight, spreading her arms wide and feeling the wind whip around her, tugging at her hair and catching on her clothes.

Sadly, it had to come to an end sooner rather than later. Blake opened her eyes as she felt gravity's pull and quickly located a suitable tree branch to land on. It was a rather thick branch, a few feet thick if she guessed correctly. Thick enough to bounce off of and slow herself down a little. As she approached, Blake drew her weapon and held it at the ready. Her Aura strengthened around her ankles as she touched down and not moment later she had kicked off, leaping to another tree and repeating the manoeuvre over again until she dug her heels into the bark of one final tree.

A cursory glance around revealed nothing out of the ordinary. That was until she heard some familiar whoops of joy from above, accompanied by rustling trees and loud gun blasts.

Blake couldn't stop the smile breaking through.

 _Time to go find my partner_.

* * *

Jaune couldn't believe his luck. Shortly after landing, which involved huddling behind his shield while he barged through branches and tree trunks alike, the first person he saw was Pyrrha. According to her, she was actually getting ready to pin him to a tree before she saw his shield deployed.

The two had chatted while they walked, with Jaune asking her what Mistral was like and Pyrrha asking him about his childhood and such.

Eventually, the topic of how why they decided to become Hunters arose.

"My parent's kind of pushed me into the role." Pyrrha confessed. "They always spun me tales of their adventures when they were younger, they always made it sound so romantic. The way that Dad used to swoop in and save Mum when she got in over her head, y'know?"

"I know that fight. Though in my case, my parents always tried to keep me as far away from it as possible. Making sure I never got into trouble, that sort of thing." Jaune sighed, sounding a little wistful. "I was told stories of my great-great-grandfather, my grandfather and even my own dad's exploits and how they were heroes. Then one day, I decided that it was a great idea to wander off into the woods, prove to my parents that I could be a Hunter.

"Now, I was about eleven when this happened, still a stubborn kid who wanted to be a hero like his dad. Not even an hour away from home and I run straight into a Beowolf pack." He chuckled. "There I was, a little kid with nothing but a toy sword against a pack of these Grimm. Man, I must have run for at least an hour, the things nipping at my heels the whole time."

"Oh my," Pyrrha covered her mouth in shock. "How did you get out of that alive?"

"I eventually stumbled right into a hollowed-out tree. The Beowolves, thankfully, seemed confused. Then, just as I'm about to make a break for it again, I hear this massive 'BANG', louder than anything I've ever heard. From my hidey-hole, I see this mountain of a man in black and gold armour beating the Grimm to death with his fists. And every few punches he threw I can see lightning erupt from his hands and vaporise some of them."

"After they were dealt with, he yells, 'Hey, Kid, you can come out now!' like he knew I was there the whole time. Turns out, he was passing through when he heard my mother calling out for me. He dropped everything and went looking for me, didn't care that he was delaying his mission or anything. All he cared about was that a child was in trouble and he had the chance to help. That's when I realised that if was going to be a Hero like my great-great-grandfather, I couldn't be a child about it. That I'd have to step up and think about more than myself. The next day, I demanded that my dad train me, wouldn't take 'No' for an answer."

"Wow…" Pyrrha breathed. "Now my reason feels kind of, well, stupid in comparison."

"Don't put yourself down like that." Jaune wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Sure I learned a valuable lesson, but I had to get chased for hours by hungry Beowolves. By my math, you got the better deal." He laughed.

Pyrrha couldn't help but join in.

* * *

Blake had found Yang fighting a couple of Ursa. At first she toyed with them, until one of them got lucky enough to slash off one of her hairs. As the single strand gracefully floated to the ground, the cat-girl could only wince as the inevitable happened a second later.

Yang exploded, the rest of her hair bursting into an ethereal fire that gave off such an intense heat that Blake could feel it from her hiding place. How the forest didn't catch fire was entirely beyond her, but it didn't really matter as the first Ursa was completely pulverised in short order.

It was about now that Blake decided to intervene, to cool her friend off if nothing else. Quick as a whip, the Ursa fell dead with her weapon sticking out of its back. Blake just watched with a silent chuckle as Yang's fire awkwardly faded.

"Uh… Hi Blake?" The blonde offered.

The cat-girl's amused smirk broke out into a smile. "Let's go, Yang." She lightly slapped her shoulder as she passed. "The ruins are this way."

* * *

"You! Mountain Man!" Shouted a White-fang member, pointing at Praetor. "Boss says he wants you on the bridge."

"On my way." He replied from his seat, overlooking the crashing waves. The criminal known as Roman had apparently managed to commandeer one of the Schnee Dust Company's freight ships mid-transit to Atlas. Now here he was, standing on the slick deck as an insurance policy against Atlas Military.

The titan carefully made his way to the towering command area where the bridge was located. The vessel reminded him of the rusted hulks that littered Old Russia on Earth. The ship was definitely impressive, almost two-hundred metres long, fifty in breadth and rose ten tall above the water. From what he could tell, it was powered by a massive Dust engine that pushed out enough energy to move it through the choppy waters.

Currently, the weather was torrential, every step made splashes and everything was strapped down by water-proof tarps. Inside the ship however it was cramped with tight walls and small bulkheads. The doors were actually too small for Praetor to fit through without removing his armour, so he instead climbed the outside ladders and entered through the (thankfully) larger doors on the bridge.

Sitting in the former captain's chair was Roman, smoking a cigar with his leg over one of the arms. Before him was the command console, a massive desk littered with screens, dials, knobs and switches.

"Good lord, big man, could you make a man wait any longer?" Roman taunted, tapping the ash from his cigar. Praetor's impassive visor answered the man's rhetorical question. "Well, whatever. The Radar has picked up a few Atlas airships moving this way. Apparently, before the captain keeled over, he triggered an alarm. Now since moving this entire ship would be rather conspicuous, we're going to have to keep Atlas' claws away from it." Roman took a drag on his cigar.

"Therefore, while we're waiting for those mutts down there to finish unpacking the dust, I'm sending you with our Bullhead to send Atlas packing."

"A pre-emptive strike?" Praetor asked.

"Sure, whatever. Just keep them off us until the rest of our bullheads arrive." Roman waved him off the bridge. "Now shoo, I need to make some calls."

The Titan left the room and made his way towards the bow of the ship, where a lone bullhead rested on a landing pad. In a matter of minutes, the VTOL was in the air and blasting away towards the horizon.

* * *

Praetor had read up on Atlas military tactics. The majority of them involved superior robotic numbers with the few flesh and blood soldiers acting as guards to sensitive areas and personnel. Thankfully that extended to the naval and airborne theatre as well as the ground.

"We're five clicks out," the pilot reported. "Any last minute adjustments to the plan?"

The titan ducked into the cockpit and stood behind the pilot to survey his next battlefield. The three Atlesian airships were in a delta formation and were at roughly the same altitude as their bullhead. He suddenly got a brainwave from his past as a reckless and brutal young Guardian.

"Ascend another click, I'll take it from there." He told the pilot before squeezing himself back into the hold to get ready.

"Aye aye."

The bullhead rumbled as the dust turbines span faster, pushing it higher into the air.

"Turn ninety degrees, pilot." Praetor watched from the window as the Atlesian airships become visible once again. The moment that they left his view again, he opened the hatch and took a deep breath. With a calm exhale, he let himself lean forward and drop headfirst towards the foremost airship.

About halfway into his fall, he willed Arc energy into being around him. The energy crackled around him, ionising the air and forming a blue streak behind him. Seconds later, he slammed through the hull and into a hallway filled with deactivated robots.

A second later the alarm went off and the mechanised soldiers snapped to life, raising their weapons at Praetor's still crackling form.

"Intruder! Identify yourself!" they all demanded at once in a deep electronic voice.

In response, Praetor cracked his neck and drew his sawed-shotgun. He manipulated the remaining electrical energy surrounding him into the barrel of his gun and fired. The iron flechettes blasted out at a hypersonic velocity, shredding everything in their path.

He raised his gun into a relaxed position and surveyed the hall of destroyed robotics with a smirk. A few pings off his back armour stiffened him again and snapped off a shot without thinking.

The scream of pain that echoed after the gunshot made him flinch. Glancing out of the corner of his eyes, Praetor could make out the slumped form of an Atlesian soldier leaning on his rifle and clutching a wound in his stomach.

Without saying a word, Praetor strode past the wounded man, dropping a little box by his struggling feet. The man painfully dropped to his knees, as careful as he could to not jostle his wound. With trembling hands he leaned over and picked it up. His back now against the wall, the soldier opened the box and pulled out a small injector filled with small green crystals.

Healing Dust.

Not wasting any time, the soldier stabbed the injector into his wound with a grunt and pulled the trigger. The dust quickly spread through the damaged skin and started mending it within seconds, knitting and melding flesh together until there was no sign of a scar.

He took a breath of glorious air, thankful that he didn't just kick the bucket. Then, just as quickly, he remembered the reason why he was there. The fact that the towering Hunter didn't just kill him outright meant that he had no intention of killing here. But the only thing behind him was the engine room…

He needed to warn the others.

* * *

The large room before him housed the largest piece of machinery, Praetor thought he'd see. Pistons fired, electricity flashed and the engine roared with life. Now here he was, about to take it all away.

 _Hopefully that soldier got the word out to the rest of the crew._ He thought, gathering Solar energy into his fist. With a resonating clang, the Hammer of Sol materialised in his hand, the eternally burning head of the hammer ablaze with a fury. Praetor took large breath, forcing more of his light into the hammer. The entire weapon glowed a bright red, as if it were stoked in a forge. With a final surge, it changed. The handle grew longer and the hammerhead bulged and sprouted burning etchings that spread across its surface.

Praetor could feel the flames surrounding him glow brighter and burning more ferociously than before. Although the flames were hot, the weapon itself was cool to his touch. Once again, he looked up at the large machine and then back to the hammer.

With a mighty swing, Praetor brought the hammer upon the machine. And his whole world exploded in fire.

* * *

"Hoo boy, I'm tellin' you guys. That ship went down like a stone." A man to his bar buddies, all twelve of them sat around the bar, forcing the man to raise his voice. "The guy does some crazy shit with electricity and punched a hole through the hull like it was paper. Then minutes later, the ships escape pods fly out and the whole thing was set on fire. A few more minutes go by and then another one was falling into the ocean. No flames this time though"

"Sounds like bullshit to me." One man claimed, raising his mug of beer to his lips.

"No no, I swear it's true." The story-teller defended. "I was barely believing my own eyes. As if that wasn't enough, I hear the guy call me up on the radio, and get this. He wants me to land on the last ship." The man's audience all share a sceptical look. "Yeah, I know right? Turns out, the guy absolutely ripped right through the crew, the canopy is shattered and everything, I could even see the bodies. When I land, there he is on the hull like nothing even happened."

"Shit, if that's true I don't wanna get near the guy."

"Oh you can get near him, just don't piss him off."

The rest of the bar murmured in agreement. But off in the corner, an unshaven man frowned.

* * *

AN: So, the obligatory 'Initiation' stuff and details to Jaune's backstory.

As usual, please leave some critique.

~Dys


	10. Chapter 9

A Step too Far

Chapter 9

An old Titan decides to climb off the walls and take a step away from the Traveler. He never intended to walk so far. He sometimes regretted taking that step.

* * *

Yellow eyes fluttered open as dawn filtered in through the windows, the light of the early morning sun warming her skin as much as the sheets that obscured her body. With a silent yawn, she rose and stretched out her muscles, careful not to hit anything against the underside of the bed above her.

 _No one else is up_ , she observed. _Shower's all mine_.

She tip-toed her way to the adjacent bathroom, her footsteps light and deliberate as to avoid the mess of clothing and school supplies that her partner usually made. The door clicked shut and Blake quickly got to work sorting her clothes and selecting what products to use. Not even a minute later and she was relishing the feeling of warm water on her bare skin.

Before, when it was just her father and her living under a roof, Blake liked to put some music on while she showered and occasionally sing along. Now with three new people to get used to living with, she had to reassess that particular habit. It would be rather embarrassing for her if Yang caught her singing, and she could only guess at what'd happen if she decided to record it.

The reason she even started singing was to distract her from thinking too deeply in the shower. For whatever reason, the sensation of a warm shower relaxed her. And while the body relaxed, her mind visited places that were uncomfortable.

Thoughts of Praetor flooded her mind, wondering if he was faring well without her. Whether or not he missed her. Was he happy, now that she-

She shook her head, her hair whipping at her cheeks. It was impossible that Praetor would be glad that she was gone.

Instead she turned her attention to events around her. She recalled the first time that Ruby took charge against a Giant Nevermore, analysing and using everyone's abilities to the best effect. Which so happened to have culminated in the young girl beheading the massive bird with her scythe.

The announcements afterward made her smile, as Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang were made into a team. The look on Weiss' face when the headmaster announced Ruby as the team leader was priceless.

On the other side, Jaune did well for himself. Landing himself as a team leader with three others that Blake didn't recognise.

In the few days after that, Weiss was a bit irritable. For a while, she refused to acknowledge Ruby as their leader and acted out a little. It mostly, took form as her sitting next to Jaune during meals and classes. Thankfully, a talk with the professors seemed to have calmed her down significantly and get her to cooperate a little more. Though Weiss would never admit to anything of the sort.

And as if that wasn't enough for the month, Jaune also seemed to have problems in the form of a bully. A rather brutish one at that. Cardin Winchester was the bully's name, a gorilla of a boy in all but name. He tended to make targets out of Faunus students, picking on them for no apparent reason but to make them feel small. Initially he targeted her, but Blake was denied the chance of breaking a few fingers when Jaune gallantly decided to draw his attention by challenging him to a spar.

The fight was surprisingly one-sided with Jaune deflecting Cardin's large mace with ease and wearing him down with bug-bites. Eventually, Cardin got so frustrated that he, quite literally, tripped on a loose stone and face-planted into his own weapon.

Despite his victory, Blake had words with Jaune.

"I'm not some damsel that needs rescuing, Jaune." She told him. "I could've handled it without you."

"I'm sorry, I jus-" He tried to say, but was silenced by Blake holding up a placating hand.

"I know, I know. You were trying to help." Blake took a deep breath. "You're a good person, Jaune. Don't think that I don't appreciate it, because I do." She gave him a friendly smile. "Just remember that we're at a _combat_ school. Most girls here aren't the type who need rescuing if they can help it."

He mulled over the information in his head for a second before nodding to himself. "Got it. I'll keep it in mind if it happens again."

When the time came for Cardin and Blake to fight in a practice match, Blake finally got a little satisfaction on the bully. He had to wear a cast on his hand for the next few days, which suited Blake just fine.

 _Thud thud thud_

"Come on Kitty, you've been in there for almost ten minutes!" Came the voice of a groggy Yang.

"Be out in a minute!" Blake called back, realising that she'd been rubbing shampoo into her hair for five minutes straight, her fingernails were going to smell like apples for the rest of the day.

* * *

" _-By the Traveler's Light, we will not let them through!" Lord Saladin shouted to the gathered Guardians, thrusting his blazing battle-axe above his head as the guardians around him erupted in cheer and roar._

" _He's getting good at those speeches." The Ghost whispered._

" _He is." Praetor agreed, a grin beneath his helmet. "But that's not what he was taught. His mentor taught him how to harness the Traveler's light, how important the wall is to us and to never stop fighting until your dying breath. Those speeches are his alone."_

" _I wonder how his protégé's will fare…"_

" _Both Zavala and Shaxx have a good grasp on their limits. They are as prepared as they can be…" he paused, looking over the gathered Guardians as they all splintered off into groups of threes and sixes. "…The others may need lady luck in order to make it through the battle ahead."_

* * *

 _The field was empty, save for the bodies. The ground he trod on had been pounded away by hundreds of boots, leaving nothing but loose dirt and rock. On both sides there were smouldering fires and lazily drifting smoke and the odd pocket of lingering ozone. Despite seeing dozens of places like this, it never got any easier for Praetor._

 _With every lifeless Guardian he passed by, he stopped to utter a short prayer while the Ghost recorded them._

" _More names to add to the wall." It muttered, scanning the body for anything identifying._

 _In the distance, Praetor could make out a signal flare drifting from the tower. Devil Red. Announcing to the Fallen that their Kell was slain._

" _That's the last Guardian I can detect." The Ghost chirped, floating to his shoulder. "It'll be up to the other Ghosts to find their Guardians."_

 _The Titan ignored him, continuing to pray._

"… _We've done all we can, Praetor."_

" _I know damn it!" He snapped at the drone, breaking his pose to throw his arms in frustration. "It's just- We've been alive for who knows how many centuries now and I still can't find a way to stop things like this!"_

" _No one could have predicted the Hive would tunnel through here."_

"I _should have!" Praetor stomped on a dead Hive Knight, its hard carapace-like armour shattering from the force. "I've patrolled these lands before the city was an outpost! I was supposed to know more than anyone."_

" _I'll alert the Vanguard to watch for further Hive activity." That calmed down Praetor enough that he wasn't shaking with rage. Though the Ghost didn't like the way he was staring at the large opening in the ground. "…What are you planning?"_

" _I'm going down there."_

 _Before the Ghost could even protest, Praetor was running towards the cave opening, Arc Light streaming from his armour._

" _Why don't we ever run away from the hordes of killer aliens?"_

* * *

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, almost wishing for the familiar voice to suddenly tell him that Cabal had been spotted near Holborn's Host.

His body was on auto-pilot as it performed the daily ritual of a shower, trim and breakfast. Then he was off to what he considered work these days. Leaning against a wall and looking intimidating. Even that didn't feel quite right when Neo tried to cozy up to him.

That lasted until he was told to watch the next ship dock to unload its cargo. Roman was alongside him in the shadows as they watched for what they needed.

"Those containers there." Roman pointed out of the alley. "The ones with the SDC logo, we'll be hitting them in a couple of days." Almost sensing Praetor's frown, Roman quickly attempted to alleviate his fears. "Don't worry, we'll be doing it in the middle of the night. 'Sides, those Faunus dogs will be doing all the lifting, we'll just be there to provide… Moral support."

"…Right." Praetor muttered. He'd grown accustomed to Roman's blatant racism years ago. It still irked him, but as long as the flashy man was all talk, there wasn't a problem.

"Haha, looks like the ship had a stowaway!" The king-pin laughed as a blonde Monkey-Faunus with an open shirt dropped a banana peel on a policeman's face before scampering away. He almost missed the four girls the boy had passed on his getaway.

 _Blake looks like she's doing well_.

He smiled before following Roman back into the alleyway.

* * *

She'd rather be curled up with a nice book or finishing off her homework. But since Weiss decided that the team needed to 'welcome' the competition for the upcoming Vytal Festival Tournament, they were out walking about the town, specifically at the seaside docks and the airport. And even though she was with her friends, Blake still felt the cold gazes from some passers-by.

"After him!"

Now the team was chasing after a blond Faunus who was also being chased by the police. Blake couldn't suppress a groan at the stereotype the boy was casting on her people.

"You there! Halt!"

Team RWBY paused at the command and all turned around to see a pair of detectives approaching. Despite their eyes being hidden by sunglasses, Blake could feel them glaring at her. They stood a full head above even Yang, the tallest of the team. Blake warily eyed the pistols that were kept holstered.

"Do you have any relation to that boy?" The bearded of them questioned, the other taking out a pen and notebook. Before Blake could try to deny anything, Ruby spoke up.

"Nope." She innocently stated. "We're just here to-"

"Not you, young lady." The bearded detective brushed Ruby aside, ignoring her indignant retort. He levelled his gaze at Blake. "You."

"I've never met him." She instantly responded.

"Uh-huh, likely story." The detective sneered, while the other shook his head and wrote something down.

"Wha- It's true!" Blake cried, looking to her team for support. Yang backed her up with a 'Yeah!' and Ruby simply nodded.

The bearded detective puffed out an impatient breath. Then pointed towards a Dust store that was being cordoned off by police. "Do you know anything about that? The shop-keep says he was robbed by the White-Fang."

"Typical." Weiss sneered. "The White-Fang are nothing but liars and degenerates." Blake openly glared at the Schnee Heiress.

"Not all Faunus are like the White-Fang, Schnee." She snapped at Weiss who was about to retort before being cut-off by the policemen.

"I've heard enough." The note-keeper closed his book and took out a pair of hand-cuffs and moved around her. "Cuff her. We can do a proper questioning back at the station."

"Hey, back off!" Yang angrily slapped the cuffs away. "You don't have any right to do that!"

"Actually, I do." The detective stated. "By Vale State Law, I'm well within my rights to place any suspect under arrest for forty-eight hours." He recited. "If they comply and assist us in our investigation that time will be significantly shorter."

Yang still looked outraged, and even looked like she was about to activate her semblance until Ruby grabbed her arm. Blake just smiled sadly at the two. "I'll be alright, I've got nothing to hide, after all." She told them as the cuffs were clicked around her wrists.

Weiss looked conflicted. Guilt marred her features as she recalled what she said on impulse and just how it might have possibly incriminated her new friend.

From atop a nearby building, a blue-eyed monkey saw everything.

* * *

The inside of her cell (Temporary, she reminded herself) was cold. It was literally iron bars and a bench that was fixed to a wall. The barred window helped a little, she got an excellent view of the harbour, surprisingly enough.

The detectives asked her all sorts of questions, ranging from her whereabouts at the time of the robbery and thoroughly questioned her about her background. It was tedious and most of her answers were negative. Though when she was shown a blurry black-and-white video feed, she had to quickly hide her shock at seeing a familiar silhouette.

The figure in the picture was large, almost two-hundred and twenty centimetres tall, and was shown storming into a Dust store before shooting the camera.

Blake couldn't even fathom him doing such a thing.

The video was accompanied by an artist's depiction based off eye-witness accounts. The rough, pencil sketch only solidified her fear.

It was him.

Suddenly, it felt as though every little thing that bothered her over the last few years clicked. The hastily constructed reasons why he came home ahead of schedule, the random fluctuations of disposable income and even the random wounds that looked nothing like Grimm attacks she'd heard about.

He'd been lying to her.

While everything raced through her mind, her face stayed impassive and her voice level as she denied any kind of knowledge of the man.

Now here she was, curled up on a bench with her back to the wall. The sun had just set, still leaving the purple and golden glow over the horizon. She felt the cool, sea breeze brush against her exposed skin and she shivered. She felt as though her world was suddenly tipped upside down.

Her father was a criminal.

But why?

"Hey, kid." Blake's head snapped up towards the voice. There was a police man standing there with the cell door open. "You're free to go."

Silently, she stood up and followed the man through the station. Waiting at the entrance, in various states of nervousness, worry and potential anger, was her team. Immediately, she was onset by little Ruby who grabbed her waist in a hug and refused to let go, rambling apologies the whole time. Yang was a little more subdued, not barrelling into Blake like her sister did and quickly moving to look for any sign of physical abuse. Finding none, she grabbed the cat-girl in a headlock and ruffled her hair.

"You had us worried, Kitty." She admitted with her patented grin.

All three sets of eyes turned towards Weiss, who had just stood up from her spot, expecting her to say something. The Heiress took a deep breath and took a full step towards the group.

"I'm sorry." She began. "I know that's little consolation for what I said before and I'm sorry for not thinking before I ran my stupid mouth." She crossed one arm and used the other to partially cover her face in shame. "I can see how the White-Fang can be a touchy subject with you, so I'll do my best to avoid saying anything un-warranted in the future."

Throughout Weiss' apology, Blake couldn't stop her jaw from falling open. It also looked like Weiss wouldn't expect her to forgive her so lightly, so it really surprised her when Blake smiled.

"Thank you, Weiss."

Once outside, they began to walk towards the airport before she felt a presence behind her.

"Y'know, you look quite well for someone who was just in jail."

It was the monkey-boy from before, leaning against a lamp-post with a half-eaten banana in his hand.

* * *

For a while now, Team RWBY plus one blonde monkey-Faunus, who introduced himself as Sun Wukong, sat watch on top of a building near the Vale Dockyards. Despite it being the dead of night, the dockyard was still being worked. To the unsuspecting eye, all one would see would be a crew of workers trying to get over-time pay. Sadly for them, Team RWBY plus one were keen watchers and they'd noticed some oddities.

The most glaring was the wrong uniforms. Instead, the workers were wearing hoods and masks of the White-Fang. The second oddities came in the form of the odd Bullhead that came in and then left in a random direction. And the final one came in the form of one Roman Torchwick directing and 'motivating' the White-Fang.

The last one was the final straw for Blake. She rushed down against her team's whispered warnings, sticking to the shadows and using her natural agility bypass the fence and sneak around armed patrols.

In a mere five minutes, she was close enough to clearly make out Roman's condescending voice.

"Come on, move it you mutts." He waved his cane at them. "This Dust isn't gonna load itself!"

She took a calming breath, steeling herself for she was about to do. She unsheathed her blade with one hand and swept up behind Roman and pressed the edge to his neck.

"What the-" he started, before realising his position with a roll of his eyes. "Of for f-"

"My Brothers and sisters of the Faunus!" Blake cut off the king-pin. "Why are you working for this racist scumbag?"

The White-Fang members looked at each other, all in a silent, knowing conversation, before turning their gaze towards Blake and raising their rifles and blades.

"Oh they know who holds their leashes, little kitty." Roman's smug voice answered. Blake was too busy glaring at the criminal to notice that the tip of his cane opened up and fired a blinding light onto the ground.

The sudden rush of light forced Blake to close her eyes. That mistake cost her the only bargaining chip she held as Roman elbowed her stomach and rolled away while she was blinking away the flash. In an instant, he had the cane up again and ready to fire an explosive round at his stunned target.

 _Whiz-Bang!_

All of a sudden his cane jerked to the side, sending the explosive bolt at an empty container. In the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of red on top of a nearby building and he had to suppress a snarl. It was that little girl who screwed up his heist a month ago. He didn't have time to reflect as Blake had recovered and was currently slashing down at him.

He managed to block with the shaft of his cane, but the blade merely phased through it before evaporating harmlessly. He immediately jumped and swung out a leg, catching Blake in the shoulder as she went for a low swipe.

Any kind of follow up attack was interrupted by another kid jumping in. This time it was Sun, who knocked a White-Fang member into him with an oddly shaped Bo staff. Sun launched himself at Roman like a spinning top, swinging his staff with reckless abandon.

Contradicting popular belief that Roman was a coward and therefore not good at fighting, the criminal blocked and deflected every swing that Sun could throw at him, until he got in a good kick to Sun's chiselled abdomen, sending the boy into a wall.

Blake didn't let Roman have any time to rest. As soon as Sun was clear, she rushed back in, slashing and leaving doppelgangers of herself whenever she could to try and trip up Roman. Unfortunately, he quickly understood her approach and kept backing away from her so that her attacks came in a linear and easy to block fashion. This kept up until she forced his back against a parked bullhead, where they were forced into a stalemate, their weapons locked against one another's.

"Ooh, kitty has claws." The criminal taunted before kicking her in the shin and forcing her to stumble. All it took from him was a push and she was on her back. "Now I'd like to stay and play kitty, but unfortunately I have places to be." He pointed his weapon at her while he climbed into the aircraft. "But I'm not so cruel as to leave you alone, I've got a playmate for you. Oh, here he is now."

As if it was on cue, she heard Ruby call out through the radio. "Blake, look out!"

Blake felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise as she felt a presence behind her. Her instincts made her jump away just as something impacted where she just was, sending dust and pulverized concrete into the air. Blake rolled to her feet as the concrete dust quickly settled and she felt the blood drain from her face.

Crouched with one fist in the now spider-webbed ground, clad in black and golden armour wreathed in flames. Blake didn't need to see his eyes to know that he was looking right back at her from the corner of his eyes.

It was Praetor.

* * *

"Ruby, what just happened!?" Yang shouted, blasting another White-Fang flunkies away with a shot from her blasters. She couldn't keep an eye on Blake as she Ruby and Weiss were currently engaged in a skirmish with several White-Fang members.

"I can't tell, there's too much dirt in the way!" She heard her little sister reply, followed by the sound of Crescent Rose firing.

"Let's just focus on us right now." Weiss reasoned. Yang was about to flare up at her for even suggesting such a thing, but was cut off when the Schnee girl continued. "The faster we take care of these goons, the faster we can help Blake."

Yang let herself grin, liking the sound of Weiss' plan. After all, they were only outnumbered three to one, they'd be finished in a minute at most.

* * *

Praetor hated himself. He just attacked Blake, whom he loved like a daughter. Roughly pulled his fist out of the cracked ground and stood up, turning his head so he could get a better look at her. Seeing her now, ready and willing to fight against injustices that had been wrought by the likes of Torchwick, Cinder... by himself. It made him proud.

He took a step forward. "Bl-"

"Get away from her!" The boy shouted at him, charging with his staff. The boy leapt into the air with a flip, bringing the metal haft down upon Praetor.

A simple block with his gauntlets stopped the attack dead in its tracks and the staff broke in two. The monkey-boy however, wasn't fazed by this in the least. Instead the now separated pieces split once again into four sawn-off shotguns attached to one another by a small chain. The boy then started spinning them around his body wildly, firing them and switching hands.

The pellets peppered Praetor, bouncing off his armour like stones. He wanted to talk to his daughter, but first he had to deal with this annoyance. Praetor quickly closed the gap between him and the monkey-boy, who tried to retreat, firing off more shots. But the boy wasn't fast enough as Praetor latched onto his ankle and tossed him into the side of a shipping container hard enough to dent the metal.

Hearing the boy groan in pain and slowly push himself back up, the Titan's fire flared and coalesced into a small ball in his palm. Praetor lazily tossed the ball to the boy's feet which then exploded in a small fireball and knocking him out.

With that dealt with, Praetor could now talk with Blake. At least that was what he thought, until he caught her blade slashing down on him and biting into his forearm. With her this close up, he didn't want to risk hurting her and withdrew his flames.

"Blake." He started.

"You lied to me!" She hissed, pushing harder, her eyes ablaze with unshed tears and rage.

With a grunt, he pushed her off him with a backhand swipe. Blake flipped away, landing in a crouch with her pistol aimed at him.

"Leave, Blake."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me the truth!"

Praetor sighed, she always was stubborn. Beneath his helmet, he couldn't help but smile. Then something flitted in the corner of his eye. A flash of mint green behind the far warehouse. Emerald. His swelling pride instantly vanished. If Cinder got a hold of Blake's relation to him, she would use it against him. He took a deep breath and put his hands in a ready position, this needed to look as convincing as possible.

"It's been some time since we fought, Blake. Show me how much you've grown."

Though she was confused, Blake still attacked. She opened fire as Praetor tore towards her. The instant he threw a punch, she created a clone and dashed to the side, letting it get destroyed as he barrelled through it and was suddenly frozen in place. She had learned to incorporate Dust into her attacks, she _was_ getting better.

The ice didn't last long as Praetor flared and fire roared, melting the ice into vapour. Bullets pinged across his back, though as he turned to the source, his vision was suddenly jerked to the side as a flaming punch careened into the side of his helmet, courtesy of one Yang Xiao Long.

The blond girl slid to a halt beside Blake, her hair glowing brighter than a bonfire. "You alright, Kitty?"

"I'm fine Yang, a little pissed, but fine." Blake panted, apparently that trick with the ice had taken a bit out of her.

As Praetor made to regain his footing, his body was rocked by several sharp impacts that sent him staggering. From up on a nearby roof, Ruby Rose waved down at her team before leaping down to ground level.

Taiyang really wasn't bragging, his daughters will be very dangerous ladies when they grow up. Yang punched hard and could take a beating in return, but Ruby was quick and still a problem at range. He glanced to the shadows, Emerald was still watching. It pained him, but they'd probably be stronger for it. Ruby would be first, then Yang and finally Blake. But first, he needed to be faster. He channelled his light into Arc and got ready to run.

He couldn't, his legs wouldn't move. Looking down, he saw the tell-tale glyph of the Schnee family, this one was glowing black. Gravity Dust, if it was used properly it could lighten one's self or make another inconceivable heavy. A glance behind him revealed the last member of his daughter's team. Ice blue dress and silver hair, definitely a Schnee. She was also sweating heavily, likely from the strain of keeping him still. Foolish.

Arc energy surged through him as Praetor leapt backwards and out of the glyph's influence. The sudden change sent the Schnee girl stumbling and he was there to capitalise on it. He seized her by her frail and slender neck and hurled her towards Blake and Yang.

* * *

Blake cursed herself for losing focus. While she was glad to have her friends back her up, they distracted her just enough for Praetor to take advantage of it. He broke out of Weiss' gravity prison that could've locked down a King Taijitsu and threw her at them. Both Blake and Yang barely noticed it in time. Sadly though, Weiss hit her head on Yang's bracers and was unconscious. They were already down one member and it was soon about to be two with the way that Praetor was chasing down Ruby.

To the young girl's credit, she did a damn good job of keeping away from him. Utilising her Gravity cartridges and semblance to their fullest, though it was only a matter of time before she slipped up.

Then she was backed into a corner and Ruby's only escape lay with making an attack against Praetor, something that Blake knew was an incredibly risky, and not to mention stupid, move. Yet Ruby was always a risk-taker, growing up with Yang left her with some bad habits.

Even with the speed the two were moving, Blake could see it all happen in slow motion. Ruby kicked off, preparing to slash at Praetor when he got close and indeed he did get close. Closer than Ruby thought, if her wide eyes were anything to judge. Praetor latched a hand around the haft of Crescent Rose and wrenched it away and Ruby with it. The younger girl slammed into the ground and with her vision fading into darkness, the last thing she would see would be her beloved scythe being shattered under his foot.

With Crescent Rose now in several pieces and Ruby incapacitated, Yang could only see red. The blonde's golden locks glowing like the sun on a bright day as the heat rolled off her.

Praetor knew about Yang's semblance, Blake recalled telling him about her fights in Signal. About how Yang dominated the sparring ring thanks to her ability to take damage and give it back two-fold. His solution to the problem, 'Don't get hit'.

That was exactly how he took down Yang. He prevented her from landing any attacks on him and dealt far more damage than she could handle. After deflecting several wide blows and numerous counter-attacks, he snagged Yang's wrists in each hand as she tried to punch him, held them apart before giving her a vicious head-butt that bloodied her nose and followed up with a full-force kick to the solar plexus that sent her through several metal containers.

Blake hadn't seen Yang look so haggard. Her hair was covered in dirt, small scrapes were beginning to welt on her face and bits of loose cloth looked close to tearing. The blonde brawler didn't seem to mind as her hair glowed even brighter and a transparent, flame-like shroud engulfed her. Accompanying this shroud was a furious cry that seemed to shake the air around her.

In response to this show of power, Praetor remained silent as his own flames burst into being around him. He was even silent when he cracked his knuckles in a threatening way, inviting her challenge.

Yang launched from her position, her right arm cocked and ready to deliver a punch at full strength. Sadly for her, the blow never connected, having been slapped aside by Praetor the instant it came in range. Yang was quick though, using the momentum to try and hook a kick at his head. He intercepted it with his right hand, stopping the movement altogether and swung her overhead and back into the ground.

Praetor didn't give her time to recover, moving over to her and stomping on her forearm. Instead of the crunch of bone that he expected, there was a force stopping him just above her skin. Her Aura was unusually strong, but then again, Praetor was holding back. The flames around his leg flared brighter as he brought down his foot once more. When his boot slammed down, a wave of fire rushed out around him. Just barely over the roar, Blake could hear Yang cry out in pain.

Believing he was done with her, Praetor began to stalk towards Blake. Only to stop when he felt an explosion impact on his back. Wheeling around, he saw Yang stumbling to her feet, her left arm dangling limp and her right bracer smoking.

"I'm not done yet." She growled.

Praetor's shoulders rose and fell in a huff before striding back to Yang, slowly picking up speed. The blonde fired on the incoming Titan as fast as she could, but whatever shells that hit him did nothing to slow him down. He slammed into Yang with his shoulder first, carried her a ways and pinned her against a warehouse wall. From there Praetor used his free arm to land blow after blow onto her exposed stomach, each time her face contorting in pain until her eyes glazed over.

At this point, Blake was fully back on her feet and her hands even steadier than before. She couldn't bear to look at her friends, it just hurt too much.

"I'm sorry, Blake." He was suddenly in front of her, barely an arm's length away.

"Saying sorry, won't forgive you." She hissed through her teeth. Quick as a snake, she lashed out with her blade, only for Praetor to lean away, the blade scraping his armour with the tip. Her assault didn't let up as she even mixed in her semblance to try and confuse him. The slashes always missed by a hair until Praetor saw a lull in her attacks and took the opportunity to try and knock her out as painlessly as possible.

His fist phased through her, beneath his helmet, Praetor's eyes widened as he saw Blake reappear below with her blade poised to strike.

 _Shlick_

The blade slid right through his gauntlet and pierced out the other end. Blake breathed heavily as she felt the sticky red substance slid over her fingers. Not hearing anything from Praetor, she looked up to see him also breathing heavily, but there was no sound. In her mind, a little voice whispered. ' _He hurt your friends, he needs to feel pain_.' Blake found herself agreeing with this voice and twisted the blade, earning a pained grunt from Praetor.

"Blake." She heard him rumble. He reached up with his free hand and pulled off his helmet, revealing a warm, tooth filled smile. "Good work. I'm proud of you."

That was all she would remember as he knocked her out.

* * *

AN: Holy crap, this ended up being over 5k words, which is a lot for me. Now I've had most of this ready, and I've written every thing from after Praetor shows up in one day. Hopefully you guys don't take this too negatively, saying "OMG he totally brutalised RWBY!" Yes, I did. This was one of the biggest changes I can imagine and was planning since this idea popped into my a year ago. Instead of team RWBY saving the day and going home happy, this ends on rather sour note while teaching the girls something they learned a much harder way in Canon.

That lesson being, You can't win everything.

For those that didn't read the notice, I rewrote chapter 2, so go check it out.

Until Next Time

~Dys


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